Class 

Book 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 



THE POPULAR SERIES 



HISTORY . 

OF THE 

UNITED STATES 




NEW YORK •: 

AMEBIC AN 



CINCINNATI 

BOOK 



189 1 



•:• CHICAGO 

COMPANY 



Copyright, 1891, by American Book Company. 



PREFACE. 



O the American youth the history of our country is more 



± important than any other branch of education. A fair 
degree of knowledge respecting the progress of the Ameri- 
can people from the discovery of the New World to the 
present is almost essential to that citizenship into which our 
youth are soon expected to enter. In a government of the 
people, for the people and by the people, a familiar acquaint- 
ance with the course of events, with the movements of society 
in peace and war, is the great prerequisite to the exercise of 
those rights and duties which the American citizen must 
assume if he would hold his true place in the Nation. 

Fortunately, the means for studying the history of our 
country are abundant and easy. American boys and girls 
have little cause any longer to complain that the writers and 
teachers have put beyond their reach the story of their native 
land. Great pains have been taken, on the contrary, to 
gather out of our annals as a people and nation the most im- 
portant and romantic parts, and to recite in pleasing style, 
and with the aid of happy illustrations, the lessons of the past. 

The author of the present volume has tried in every par- 
ticular to put himself in the place of the student. He has 
endeavored to bring to the pupils of our great Common 
Schools a brief and easy narrative of all the better parts of 
our country's history. It has been his aim to tell the story as 
a lover of his native land should recite for others that which is 
dearest and best to memory and affection. He has sought to 
bring the careful results of historical research into the school- 
room without any of the superfluous rubbish and scaffolding 
of obtrusive scholarship and erudition. 

Another aim in the present text-book for our youth has been 
to consider the events of our country's history somewhat from 




(3) 



4 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



our own point of view — not to despise the history of civiliza- 
tion in the Mississippi Valley, or to seek wholly for examples 
of heroism and greatness in the older States of the Union, 
Perhaps no part of our country is more favorably situated for 
taking such a view of our progress as a nation than is that 
magnificent region, constituting as it does the most fertile and 
populous portion of the continent. In the present History of 
the United States the author has not hesitated to make em- 
phatic those paragraphs which relate to the development and 
progress of this region. 

For the rest the author has followed the usual channel of 
narration from the aboriginal times to the colonization of our 
Atlantic coast by the peoples of Western Europe.; from that 
event by way of the Old Thirteen Colonies to Independence; 
from Independence to regeneration by war; and from our 
second birth to the present epoch of greatness and promise. He 
cherishes the hope that his work in the hands of the boys and 
girls of our public schools may pass into their memories and 
hearts ; that its lessons may enter into union with their lives, 
and conduce in some measure to their development into men 
and women worthy of their age and country. 



CONTENTS. 



Page 

Preface 3 

Contents 5 

Introduction 8 



PART I. 

Chapter PRIMITIVE AMERICA. 

I.— The Aborigines II 



PART II. 

VOYAGE AND DISCOVERY. 

II. — The Norsemen in America 21 

III. — Spanish Discoveries in America 24 

IV. — Spanish Discoveries in America. — Continued 28 

V. — The French in America 35 

VI. — English Discoveries and Settlements 41 

VII. — English Discoveries and Settlements. — Continued 47 

VIII. — Voyages and Settlements of the Dutch 53 



PART III. 

COLONIAL HISTORY. 

IX. — Virginia. — The First Charter 57 

X. — Charter Government. — Continued 65 

XI. — Virginia. — The Royal Government 70 

XII. — Massachusetts. — Settlement and Union 76 

XIII. — Massachusetts. — War and Witchcraft 84 

XIV. — New York. — Settlement and Administration of Stuyvesant 94 
XV. — New York under the English 100 

XVI. — Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire 106 

XVII. — New Jersey and Pennsylvania 115 

XVIII. — Maryland and North Carolina 122 

XIX. — South Carolina and Georgia 128 

XX. — French and Indian War 135 

(5) 



6 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



PART IV. 

Chapter REVOLUTION AND CONFEDERATION. Page 

XXI. — Causes of the Revolution 149 

XXII. — The Beginning of the Revolution. — Events of 1775. . . . 157 

XXIII. — The Events of 1776 163 

XXIV. — Operations of 1777 171 

XXV. — Events of 1778 and 1779 178 

XXVI. — Reverses and Treason. — Events of 1780 187 

XXVII.— Events of 1 781 192 

XXVIII. — Confederation and Union 199 



PART V. 

GROWTH OF THE UNION. 



XXIX. — Washington's Administration 205 

XXX. — Adams's Administration 21 1 

XXXI. — Jefferson's Administration 214 

XXXII. — Madison's Administration. — War of 1812 . . / 221 

XXXIII. — War of 1812. — Events of 1813 228 

XXXIV. — The Campaigns of 1814 235 

XXXV. — Monroe's Administration 244 

XXXVI. — Adams's Administration 248 

XXXVII. — Jackson's Administration 250 

XXXVIII. — Van Buren's Administration 254 

XXXIX. — Administrations of Harrison and Tyler. 257 

XL. — Polk's Administration and the Mexican War 261 

XLI. — Administrations of Taylor and Fillmore 269 

XLII. — Pierce's Administration. . . 273 

XLIII. — Buchanan's Administration . . 275 



PART VI. 

THE CIVIL WAR. 



• XLIV. — Lincoln's Administration and the Civil War 281 

XL V.— Causes of the Civil War 284 

XLVL— Events of 1861 288 

XLVII. — Campaigns of 1862 293 

XLVIIL— The Events of 1863 302 

XLIX.— The Closing Conflicts.— Events of 1864 and 1865 310 



PART VII. 

THE NATION REUNITED. 

L. — ■ Johnson's Administration 323 

LI. — Grant's Administration 328 

LII. — Hayes's Administration 337 

LIII. — Administrations of Garfield and Arthur . 344 

LIV. — Cleveland's Administration 350 

LV. — Harrison's Administration 361 

Appendix.— Constitution of the United States 371 

Index , 387 



MAPS AND PORTRAITS. 



COLORED MAPS. 

PAGE 

The New World, with Routes of Discoveries 24 

The Colonies at the time of the French and Indian War 144 

The Colonies at the time of the Revolution 192 

The States in America during the Civil War 304 



OUTLINE MAPS. 



PAGE 



The First English Settlements ... 48 
Early Settlements in East Mass. . 78 

Middle Colonies 116 

Washington's Route to Fort Le 

Bceuf 139 

Lake Cham plain 142 

Quebec in 1759 145 

Vicinity of Boston 160 

New York and Vicinity 168 

Central New Jersey 170 

Hudson River 174 



PAGE 



Philadelphia and Vicinity 176 

The Carolinas 186 

Western Battlefields of the War of 

1812 223 

Operations about Niagara 235 

Vicinity of MaDassas Junction ... 288 

Vicinity of Richmond, 1862 298 

Vicksburg and Vicinity, 1863 303 

Sherman's Atlanta Campaign — 312 
Operations in Virginia, 1864 and 

1865 318 



PAGE 



George Washington 10 

Christopher Columbus 25 

Pedro Menendez 33 

Samuel Champlain 39 

Sebastian Cabot 42 

Sir Walter Raleigh 44 

Captain John Smith 60 

Peter Stuyvesant 96 

William Penn 119 

Cecil Calvert, Lord Baltimore ... 123 

James Oglethorpe 131 

. Patrick Henry 152 

Marquis de La Fayette 173 

Benjamin Franklin 179 

Paul Jones 186 

General Greene 193 

John Adams 211 

Thomas Jefferson 214 

James Madison 221 

James Monroe 244 

Henry Clay 247 

John Quincy Adams 248 

Andrew Jackson 250 

Daniel Webster 251 

Martin Van Buren 254 



page 



William Henry Harrison 257 

John Tyler 257 

James K. Polk 261 

John Charles Fremont 263 

Zacharv Tavlor 269 

Millard Fillmore 270 

Franklin Pierce 273 

James Buchanan 275 

Abraham Lincoln 281 

George B. McClellan 291 

Robert E. Lee 299 

Stonewall Jackson 307 

William T. Sherman 311 

Joseph E. Johnston 313 

Philip H. Sheridan 317 

Andrew Johnson 323 

Ulysses S. Grant 328 

Horace Greeley 331 

Rutherford B. Haves 337 

Oliver P. Morton 342 

James A. Garfield — 344 

Chester A. Arthur 346 

Grover Cleveland 350 

Thomas A. Hendricks 356 

Benjamin Harrison 361 



(7) 



INTRODUCTION. 



THERE are several Periods in the history of the United 
States. It is important for the student to understand 
these at the beginning. Without such an understanding his 
notion of our country's history will be confused and his study 
rendered difficult. 

2. First of all, there was a time when the Western continent 
was under the dominion of the Red men. The savage races 
possessed the soil, hunted in the forests, roamed over the prai- 
ries. This is the Primitive Period in American history. 

3. After the discovery of America, the people of Europe 
were for a long time engaged in exploring the New World 
and in becoming familiar with its shape and character. For 
more than a hundred years, curiosity was the leading passion 
with the adventurers who came to our shores. Their disposi- 
tion was to go everywhere and settle nowhere. These early 
times may be called the Period of Voyage and Discovery. 

4. Next came the time of planting colonies. The adven- 
turers, tired of wandering about, became anxious to found 
new States in the wilderness. Kings and queens turned their 
attention to the work of colonizing the New World. Thus 
arose a third period — the Period of Colonial History. 

5. The colonies grew strong and multiplied. There were 
thirteen little seashore republics, The rulers of the mother- 
country began a system of oppression and tyranny. The 
colonies revolted, fought side by side, and won their freedom, 

(6) 



INTRODUCTION. 



9 



Not satisfied with mere independence, they formed a Union 
destined to become strong and great. This is the Period of 
Revolution and Confederation. 

6. Then the United States of America entered upon its 
career as a nation. Emigrants flocked to the Land of the 
Free. New States were formed and added to the Union in 
rapid succession. To protect itself from jealous neighbors, 
the nation pushed her boundaries across the continent. This 
Period may be called the Growth of the Union. 

7. But the nation was not truly free. Human slavery ex- 
isted in the South. This institution engendered sectional hatred 
and desires for disunion which finally developed into the dark 
and bloody Period of the Civil War. 

8. Then the reunited nation laid aside its arms and entered 
upon a period of prosperity and material development which 
has not yet reached its culmination and with which History 
affords no parallel. 

9. We thus find seven periods in the history of our country : 

I. Primitive America; prior to the coming of white men. 

II. Voyage and Discovery; A. D. 986-1607. 

III. The Colonies; A. D. 1607-1775. 

IV. Revolution and Confederation; A. D. 1775-1789. 
V. The Growth of the Union; A. D. 1789-1861. 

VI. The Civil War; A. D. 1861-1865. 
VII. The Reunited Nation; A. D. 1865-1891. 

In this order the History of the United States will be pre- 
sented in the following pages. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Part I. 
PRIMITIVE AMERICA. 




CHAPTER I. 
The Aborigines. 

BEFORE the times of the Red men, North 
America was inhabited by other races, of 
^ whom we know but little. Of these primitive 
peoples the Indians preserved many traditions. Vague stories 
of the wars, migrations, and cities of the nations that preceded 
them were recited by the red hunters at their camp-fires, and 
were repeated from generation to generation. 

(ii) 



12 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



2. Other evidences, more trustworthy than legend and story, 
exist of the presence of aboriginal peoples in our country. The 
traces of a rude civilization are found in almost every part of 
the present United States. It is certain that the relics left 
behind by the prehistoric peoples are not the work of the In- 
dian races, but of peoples who preceded them in the occupa- 
tion of this continent. That class of scholars called antiquari- 
ans, or archaeologists, have taken great pains to restore for us 
an outline of the life and character of the nations who first dwelt 
in the great countries between the Atlantic and the Pacific. 

3. These primitive peoples are known to 
The Mound- ug , t ^ e name G f Mound- builders. The 
builders. J 

building of mounds seems to have been one 

of their chief forms of activity. The traveler of to-day, in 
passing across our country, will ever and anon discover one of 
those primitive works of a race which has left to us no other 
monuments. As the ancient people of Egypt built pyramids 
of stone for their memorials, so the unknown peoples of the 
New World raised huge mounds of earth as the tokens of their 
presence, the evidences of their work in ancient America. 

4. The mounds referred to are found in many parts of the 
United States, but are most abundant in the Mississippi Valley. 
Here also they are of greatest extent and variety. Some of 
them are as much as ninety feet in height, and one has been 
estimated to contain twenty million cubic feet of earth. It is 
evident that they were formed before the present forest growth 
of the United States sprang into existence. The mounds are 
covered with trees, some of them several feet in diameter : and 
the surface has the same appearance as that of the surrounding 
country. 

5. As we have said, we know but little of the people by 
whom the mounds and earthworks of primitive America were 
constructed. Some of the works in question are of a military 
character. One of these, called Fort Hill, near the mouth of 
the Little Miami River, has a circumference of nearly four 



THE ABORIGINES. 



*3 



miles. It is certain that great nations, frequently at war with 
each other, dwelt in our country between the Northern Lakes 
and the Southern Gulf; but who those peoples were we have 
no method of ascertaining. Their language has perished with 
the people who spoke it. Only a few of the relics and imple- 
ments of the primitive races remain to inform us of the men by 
whom they were made. 

6. In many parts of the Mississippi Val- 
ley, particularly in the States of Ohio and Mounds 
Indiana, the ancient mounds may be seen 

as they were at the time of the discovery of America. One 
of the greatest is situated in Illinois, opposite the city of St. 
Louis. It is elliptical in form, being about seven hundred 
feet in length by five hundred feet in breadth. It rises to a 
height of ninety feet. Another of much interest is at Grave 
Creek, near Wheeling, in West Virginia. A mound at Miamis- 
burg, Ohio, is nearly seventy feet in height. One of the finest 
of all is the conical mound at Marietta, Ohio. Some of the 
mounds, as those of Wisconsin, are shaped like animals. One 
of the most peculiar and interesting is the great serpent mound 
in Adams County, Ohio. The work has the shape of a serpent 
more than a thousand feet in length, the body being about thirty 
feet broad at the surface. The mouth of the serpent is opened 
wide, and an object resembling a great egg lies partly within 
the jaws. 

7. The use of the mounds has not been ascertained. Some 
have supposed that they were tombs in which the slain of great 
armies were buried, but on opening them, human remains are 
rarely found. Others have believed that the mounds were 
true memorials, intended by their magnitude to impress the 
beholder and transmit a memory. Still others have thought 
the elevations were intended for watch-towers from which the 
movements of the enemy might be watched and thwarted. 

8. What we know of the prehistoric races has been mostly 
gained from an examination of their implements and utensils. 



14 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 




Relics from the Mounds. 



These were of either stone or copper. It appears that the more 

advanced of the peoples, especially the nations living on the 

borders of the Great Lakes, were able to 
Relics from the r c T ^ 

Mounds manufacture utensils of copper. In other 

parts of the country, the weapons and im- 
plements were made of flint and other varieties of stone, by 
chipping or polishing. The range of tools and implements 
was extensive, including axes, spear-heads, arrow-points, knives, 
chisels, hammers, rude millstones, and many varieties of 
earthen ware. Besides these, there were articles of ornamenta- 
tion and personal use, such as pipes, bracelets, ear-rings, and 
beads. The common belief that the articles here referred to 
were the product of Indian workmanship is held by many anti- 
quarians to be wholly erroneous. These antiquarians think 
that the Indians knew nothing more of the origin and pro- 
duction of such implements as the arrow-points, spear-heads, 
and stone axes than we know ourselves. 

9. In many parts of Indiana the mounds of the ancient 
races are plentifully distributed. Almost every county has 
some relics of this kind within its borders. But the most inter- 
esting remains of the primitive races are those discovered in 
the ancient cemeteries scattered between Lake Michigan and 
the Tennessee River. In many places the aboriginal tombs 
still yield the relics of this people of whom we know so little. 



THE ABORIGINES. 



In recent years a burial ground near Bedford, Indiana, has 
been opened, from which have been taken primitive skulls and 
other parts of human skeletons, belonging possibly to some 
unknown race long preceding the Indians in our country. 

10. With the Mound-builders, history can 

be but little concerned ; but with the Red _ _ __ ' 

; or Red Men. 

men, or Indians, who succeeded them, the 

white race was destined to have many relations of peace 

and war. On the first arrival of Europeans on the Atlantic 

coast, the country was found in possession of wild tribes 

living in the woods and on the river banks, in rude villages 

from which they went forth to hunt or to make war on other 

tribes. Their manners and customs were fixed by usage and 

law, and there was at least the beginning of civil government 

among them. 

11. To these tribes the name Indian was given from their 
supposed identity with the people of India. Columbus and 
his followers believed that they had reached the islands of the 
far East, and that the natives were of the same race as the 
inhabitants of the Indies. The mistake of the Spaniards was 
soon discovered ; but the name Indian has ever since remained 
to designate the native tribes of the Western continent. 

12. The origin of the Indians is involved in obscurity. At 
what date or by what route they came to the New World is 
unknown. The notion that the Red men are the descendants 
of the Israelites is absurd. That Europeans or Africans, at 
some early period, crossed the Atlantic by sailing from island 
to island, seems improbable. That the people of Kamchatka 
came by way of Bering Strait into the northwestern parts of 
America, has little evidence to support it. Perhaps a more 
thorough knowledge of the Indian languages may yet throw 
some light on the origin of the race. 

13. The Indians belong to the Bow-and- Arrow family of 
men. To the Red man the chase was everything. Without the 
chase he languished and died. To smite the deer and the 



i6 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES, 



bear was his chief delight and profit. Such a race could live 
only in a country of woods and wild animals. 

14. The northern parts of America were inhabited by the 
Esquimos. The name means the eaters of raw meat. They 
lived in snow huts or hovels. Their manner of life was that 
of fishermen and hunters. They clad themselves in winter 
with the skins of seals, and in summer with those of reindeer. 

15. The greater portion of the United 
Trfbe^ States east of the Mississippi was peopled 
by the family of the Algonquins. They 
were divided into many tribes, each having its local name and 
tradition. Agriculture was but little practiced by them. They 
roamed about from one hunting-ground and river to another. 
When the White men came, the Algonquin nations were 
already declining in numbers and influence. Only a few 
thousands now remain. 

16. Around the shores of Lakes Erie and Ontario lived the 
Huron-Iroquois. At the time of their greatest power, they 
embraced no fewer than nine nations. The warriors of this 
confederacy presented the Indian character in its best aspect. 
They were brave, patriotic, and eloquent; faithful as friends, 
but terrible as enemies. 

17. South of the Algonquins were the Cherokees and the 
Mobilian Nations. The former were highly civilized for a 
primitive people. The principal tribes of the Mobilians were 
the Yamassees and Creeks of Georgia, the Seminoles of Florida, 
and the Choctaws and Chickasaws of Mississippi. These dis- 
played the usual disposition and habits of the Red men. 

18. West of the Mississippi was the family of the Dakotas. 
South of these, in a district nearly corresponding with the 
State of Texas, lived the wild Comanches. Beyond the Rocky 
Mountains were the Indian nations of the Plains ; the great 
families of the Shoshones, the Selish, the Klamaths, and 
the Californians. On the Pacific slope, farther southward, 
dwelt in former times the civilized but feeble race of Aztecs. 



THE ABORIGINES. 



17 




1 9. The Red men had a great passion for war. Their wars 
were undertaken for revenge rather than conquest. To for- 
give an injury was considered a shame. Revenge was the 
noblest of the virtues. The open battle of the field was un- 
known in Indian warfare. Fighting was limited to the ambus- 
cade and the massacre. Quarter was rarely asked, and never 
granted, 

2.— U. S. Hist. 



i8 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



20. In times of peace the Indian character appeared to a 

better advantage. But the Red man was always unsocial and 

solitary. He sat by himself in the woods. The forest was 

better than a wigwam, and a wigwam better than a village. 

The Indian woman was a degraded creature — a mere drudge 

and beast of burden. 

21. In the matter of the arts the Indian 

r,r. \- was a barbarian. His house was a hovel, 
Characteristics. 

built of poles set up in a circle, and covered 
with skins and the branches of trees. Household utensils were 
few and rude. Earthen pots, bags, and pouches for carrying 
provisions, and stone hammers for pounding corn, were the 
stock and store. His weapons of offense and defense were the 
hatchet and the bow and arrow. In times of war the Red man 
painted his face and body with all manner of glaring colors. 
The fine arts were wanting. Indian writing consisted of half- 
intelligible hieroglyphics scratched on the face of rocks or cut 
in the bark of trees. 

22. The Indian languages bear little resemblance to those 
of other races. The Red man's vocabulary was very lirnited. 
The principal objects of nature had special names, but abstract 
ideas could hardly be expressed. Indian words had a very in- 
tense meaning. There was, for instance, no word signifying to 
hunt or to fish; but one word signified " to-kill-a-deer-with-an- 
arrow"; another, " to-take-fish-by-striking-the-ice." Among 
some of the tribes, the meaning of words was so restricted that 
the warrior would use one term and the squaw another to ex- 
press the same idea. 

23. The Indians were generally serious in manners and 
behavior. Sometimes, however, they gave themselves up to 
merry-making and hilarity. The dance was universal — not the 
social dance of civilized nations, but the solemn dance of re- 
ligion and of war. Gaming was much practiced among all the 
tribes. Other amusements were common, such as running, 
wrestling, shooting at a mark, and racing in canoes. 



THE ABORIGINES. 



J 9 



24. In personal appearance the Indians were strongly 
marked. In stature they were below the average of Euro- 
peans. The Esquimos are rarely five feet high. The Algon- 
quins are taller and lighter in build ; straight and agile ; lean 
and swift of foot. The eyes are jet-black and sunken; hair 
black and straight ; skin copper-colored or brown ; hands and 
feet small ; body lithe, but not strong ; expression sinister, or 
sometimes dignified and noble. 

25. The best hopes of the Indian race seem now to center 
in the Choctaws, Cherokees, Creeks, and Chickasaws of the 
Indian Territory. These nations have attained a considerable 
degree of civilization. Most of the other tribes are declining 
in numbers and influence. Whether the Indians have been 
justly deprived of the New World will remain a subject of de- 
bate. That they have been deprived of it can not be ques- 
tioned. The white races have taken possession of the vast 
domain. To the prairies and forests, the hunting-grounds of 
his fathers, the Red man says farewell. 



20 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Review Questions. — Part I. 

1. What is meant by the Aborigines ? 

2. What evidences indicate an earlier race than the Indians ? 

3. What is known of the Mound-builders ? 

4. What are the most notable mounds ? 

5. Where are they located ? 

6. Describe the shapes of the mounds. 

7. For what supposed purposes were they built ? 

8. What are sometimes found in the mounds ? 

9. Why were the native races of America called Indians ? 

10. What is said of the origin of these races ? 

11. To what family of men do the Indians belong? 

12. Name the principal Indian nations in America. 

13. What regions did the Algonquins inhabit? 

14. Where did the Huron- Iroquois live ? 

15. What were the characteristics of this nation? 

16. Where did the Cherokees and Mobilian nations live ? 

17. What were the principal tribes of the Mobilians? 

18. What regions did the Dakotas inhabit ? 

19. Give the names of other Indian nations. 

20. What regions did they inhabit ? 

21. What were the leading characteristics of the Indians? 

22. What can you tell of the Indian languages ? 

23. Describe the personal appearance of the Indians. 

24. What tribes of Indians are now the most civilized ? 

25. Give some account of the Esquimos. 

26. What does the name Esquimo mean ? 



Part II. 

VOYAGE AND DISCOVERY. 

A. D. 986-1607. 



CHAPTER II. 
The Norsemen in America. 

THE western continent was first seen by white men in A. D. 
986. A Norse navigator by the name of Herjulfson, 
sailing from Iceland to Greenland, was caught in a storm and 
driven westward to Newfoundland or Labrador. Two or three 
times the shores were seen, but no landing was attempted. The 
coast was so different from the well-known cliffs of Greenland 
as to make it certain that another shore, hitherto unknown, was 
in sight. On reaching Greenland, Herjulfson and his com- 
panions told wonderful stories of the new land seen in the west. 
2. Fourteen years later, the actual disco v- 

Leif 

ery of America was made by Leif, a son of „ ~L . 
_ \ ^ , . , \ 9 , Son of Eric. 

Eric. Resolving to know the truth about 

the country which Herjulfson had seen, he sailed westward 

from Greenland, and in the spring of the year 1001 reached 

Labrador. Landing with his companions, he made explorations 

for a considerable distance along the coast. The country was 

milder and more attractive than his own, and he was in no 

haste to return. Southward he went as far as Massachusetts, 

where the company remained for more than a year. Rhode 

Island was also visited \ and it is alleged that the adventurers 

found their way into New York harbor. 

(21) 



22 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



3. In the years that followed Leif's discovery, other bands 
of Norsemen came to the shores of America. Thorwald, 
Leif's brother, made a voyage to Maine and Massachusetts 
in 1 00 2, and is said to have died at Fall River in the latter 
State. Then another brother, Thorstein by name, arrived 
with a band of followers in 1005 ; and in the year 1007, Thor- 
finn Karlsefne, the most distinguished mariner of his day, 
came with a crew of a hundred and fifty 
men, and made explorations along the 
coast of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, 
and perhaps as far south as the capes of 
Virginia. 

4. Other companies of Icelanders and 
Norwegians visited the countries farther 






Norsemen in America. 



north, and planted colonies in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. 
Little, however, was known or imagined by these rude sailors 
of the extent of the country which they had discovered. They 



THE NORSEMEN IN AMERICA. 



2 3 



supposed that it was only a portion of Western Greenland, 
which, bending to the north around an arm of the ocean, had 
reappeared in the west. Their settlements 
were feeble and were soon broken up. Com- 
merce was an impossibility in a country where there were only 
a few wretched savages with no disposition to buy and nothing 
at all to sell. The spirit of adventure was soon appeased, and 
the restless Norsemen returned to their own country. To this 
undefined line of coast, now vaguely known to them, the Norse 
sailors gave the name of Vinland. 

5. During the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth centuries 
occasional voyages were made; and as late as A. D. 1347, a 
Norwegian ship visited Labrador and the northeastern parts 
of the United States. In 1350 Greenland and Vinland were 
depopulated by a great plague which had spread thither from 
Norway. From that time forth communication with the New 
World ceased, and the history of the Northmen in America 
was at an end. The Norse remains, which have been found 
at Newport, at Fall River, and several other places, point 
clearly to the events here narrated ; and the Icelandic histo- 
rians give a consistent account of these early exploits of their 
countrymen. When the word America is mentioned in the 
hearing of the schoolboys of Iceland, they will at once answer, 
with enthusiasm, " Oh, yes ; Leif Ericsson discovered that 
country in the year 1001." 

6. An event is to be weighed by its consequences. From 
the discovery of America by the Norsemen, nothing whatever 
resulted. The world was neither wiser nor better. Among the 
Icelanders themselves the place and the very name of Vinland 
were forgotten. Europe never heard of such a country or such 
a discovery. Historians have until late years been incredulous 
on the subject, and the fact is as though it had never been. 
The curtain which had been lifted for a moment was stretched 
again from sky to sea, and the New World still lay hidden in 
the shadows. 



CHAPTER III. 



Spanish Discoveries in America. 



IT was reserved for the people of a sun- 
nier clime than Iceland first to make 

uoiumous. 

known to the European nations the exist- 
ence of a Western continent. Spain was the happy coun- 
try under whose patronage a new world was to be added to 
the old ; but the man who was destined to make the revela- 
tion was not himself a Spaniard : he was to come from Italy, 
the land of valor and the home of greatness. Christopher 
Columbus was the name of that man whom after ages have 
rewarded with imperishable fame. 

2. The idea that the world is round was not original with 
Columbus. The English traveler, Sir John Mandeville, had 
declared in the first English book ever written (A. D. 1356) 
that the world is a sphere, and that it was practicable for a 
man to sail around the world and return to the place of start- 
ing. But Columbus was the first practical believer in the 
theory of circumnavigation. 

3. The great mistake with Columbus was not concerning 
the figure of the earth, but in regard to its size. He believed 
the world to be no more than ten thousand or twelve thousand 
miles in circumference. He therefore confidently expected 
that, after sailing about three thousand miles to the westward, 
he should arrive at the East Indies. 

4. Christopher Columbus was born at Genoa, Italy, in A. D. 
1435. He was carefully educated, and then devoted himself 
to the sea. For twenty years he traversed the parts of the 
Atlantic adjacent to Europe; he visited Iceland; then went to 
Portugal, and finally to Spain. He spent ten years in trying 

(24) 



SPANISH DISCOVERIES IN AMERICA. 



2 5 



to explain to dull monarchs 
the figure of the earth and the 
ease with which the rich is- 
lands of the East might be 
reached by sailing westward. 
He found one appreciative 
listener, the noble and sym- 
pathetic Isabella, 





Queen of Castile. To the faith, insight, and decision of a 
woman the final success of Columbus must be attributed. 

5. On the morning of the 3d day of Aug- 
ust, 1492, Columbus, with three ships, left 
the harbor of Palos. After seventy-one days 
of sailing, in the early dawn of October 12, Rodrigo Triana, 
a sailor on the Pinta, set up a shout of "Zand/" A gun was 



Discovery 
of America. 



26 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



fired as the signal. The ships lay to. Just at sunrise Columbus 
stepped ashore, set up the banner of Castile in the presence of 
the natives, and named the island San Salvador. During the 
three remaining months of this first voyage, the islands of Con- 
cepcion, Cuba, and San Domingo were added to the list of 
discoveries ; and in the last-named island was erected a fort, 
the first structure built by Europeans in the New World. In 
January, 1493, Columbus sailed for Spain, where he arrived in 
March, and was greeted with rejoicings and applause. 

6. In the following autumn, Columbus sailed on his second 
voyage, which resulted in the discovery of the Windward group 
and the islands of Jamaica and Porto Rico. It was at this 
time, and in San Domingo, that the first colony was established. 
Columbus's brother was appointed governor. After an absence 
of nearly three years, Columbus returned to Spain. The rest 
of his life was clouded with persecutions and misfortunes. 

7. In 1498, during a third voyage, Columbus discovered the 
island of Trinidad and the mainland of South America. Thence 
he sailed back to San Domingo, where he found his colony dis- 
organized ; and here, while attempting to restore order, he was 
seized by an agent of the Spanish government, put in chains, 
and carried to Spain. After much disgraceful treatment, he was 
sent out on a fourth and last voyage, in search of the Indies ; 
but the expedition accomplished little, and Columbus returned 
to his ungrateful country. The good Isabella was dead, and 
the great discoverer, a friendless and neglected old man, sank 
into the grave. 

8. Columbus was even robbed of the name of the new con- 
tinent. In the year 1499, Amerigo Vespucci, a Florentine 
navigator, reached the eastern coast of South America. Two 
years later he made a second voyage, and then gave to Europe 
the first published account of the Western World. In his nar- 
rative all reference to Columbus was omitted ; and thus the 
name of Vespucci, rather than that of the true discoverer, was 
given to the New World. 



SPANISH DISCOVERIES IN AMERICA. 



^7 



9. The discovery of America produced 

great excitement in Europe. Within ten *^ SC °I ei 7,. 

r ^ i T 1 i • of the Pa cific 
years after the death of Columbus, the prin- 
cipal islands of the West Indies were explored and colo- 
nized. In the year 1510 the Spaniards planted on the Isthmus 
of Darien their first continental colony. Three years later, 
De Balboa, the governor of the colony, crossed the isthmus, 
and from an eminence looked down upon the Pacific. Not 
satisfied with merely seeing the great water, he waded in a 
short distance, and, drawing his sword, took possession of the 
ocean in the name of the king of Spain. 

10. Meanwhile, Ponce de Leon, who had been a com- 
panion of Columbus, fitted out an expedition of discovery. 
He had grown rich as governor of Porto Rico, and had also 
grown old. But there was a Fountain of Perpetual Youth 
somewhere in the Bahamas — so said a tradition in Spain — 
and in that fountain the old soldier would bathe and be young 
again. So in the year 15 12 he set sail from Florida 
Porto Rico ; and on Easter Sunday came in 

sight of an unknown shore. There were waving forests, green 
leaves, and birds of song. In honor of the day, called Pascua Flo- 
rida , he named the new shore Florida — the Land of Flowers. 

11. A landing was made near where St. Augustine was 
afterwards founded. The country was claimed for the king 
of Spain, and the search was continued for the Fountain of 
Youth. The adventurer turned southward, discovered the 
Tortugas, and then sailed back to Porto Rico, no younger 
than when he started. 

12. The king of Spain gave Ponce the governorship of his 
Land of Flow r ers, and sent him thither to establish a colony. 
He reached his province in the year 1521, and found the 
Indians hostile. Scarcely had he landed when they fell upon 
him in battle ; many of the Spaniards were killed, and the rest 
had to fly to the ships for safety. Ponce de Leon himself was 
wounded, and carried back to Cuba to die. 



CHAPTER IV. 



Spanish Discoveries in America. — (Continued.) 

THE year 151 7 was marked by the discovery of Yucatan by 
Fernandez de Cordova. While exploring the northern 
coast of the country, he was attacked by the natives, and 
mortally wounded. During the next year the coast of Mexico 
was explored for a great distance by Grijalva, assisted by 
Cordova's pilot. In the year 15 19 Fernando Cortez landed 
with his fleet at Tabasco, and, in two years, conquered the 
Aztec empire of Mexico. 

2. Among the daring enterprises at the 
^oT^^lob^ 011 k e g mnm § °f the sixteenth century was that 
of Ferdinand Magellan. A Portuguese 
by birth, this bold man determined to discover a southwest 
passage to Asia. He appealed to the king of Portugal for 
ships and men; but the monarch gave no encouragement. 
Magellan then went to Spain, and laid his plans before 
Charles V., who ordered a fleet of five ships to be fitted out 
at the public expense. 

3. The voyage was begun from Seville in August of 1519. 
Magellan soon reached the shores of South America, and passed 
the winter on the coast of Brazil. Renewing his voyage south- 
ward, he came to that strait which still bears his name, and 
passing through, found himself in the open and boundless ocean 
which he called the Pacific. 

4. Magellan held on his course for nearly four months, suf- 
fering much for water and provisions. In March of 1520 he 
came to the islands called the Ladrones. Afterwards he reached 
the Philippine group, where he was killed in battle with the 
natives. But a new captain was chosen, and the voyage was 

(28) 



SPANISH DISCOVERIES IN AMERICA. 



29 



continued to the Moluccas. Only a single ship remained ; but 
in this vessel the crews embarked, and, returning by way of the 
Cape of Good Hope, arrived in Spain in September, 1522. The 
first circumnavigation of the globe had been accomplished. 

5. The next important voyage to America was iij the year 
1520. De Ayllon, a judge in St. Domingo, and six other 
wealthy men, determined to stock their plantations with slaves, 
by kidnapping natives from the Bahamas. Two vessels reached 
the coast of South Carolina. The name of Chicora was given 
to the country, and the River Combahee was called the Jordan. 
The natives made presents to the strangers and treated them 
with great cordiality. They flocked on board the ships; and 
when the decks were crowded De Ayllon weighed anchor and 
sailed away. A few days afterwards a storm wrecked one of 
the ships; while most of the poor wretches who were in the 
other ship died of suffocation. 

6. In 1526 Charles V. appointed De 

Narvaez governor of Florida. His terri- Expedition 

of De Narvaez. 

tory extended from Cape Sable three fifths 

of the way around the Gulf of Mexico. De Narvaez arrived 
at Tampa Bay with two hundred and sixty soldiers and 
forty horsemen. The natives treated them with suspicion, 
and holding up their gold trinkets, pointed to the north. 
The Spaniards, whose imagination^ were fired with the sight 
of the precious metal, struck into the forests, expecting to 
find cities and empires, and found instead swamps and sav- 
ages. They finally came to Appalachee, a squalid village of 
forty cabins. 

7. Oppressed with fatigue and hunger, they wandered on, 
until they reached the harbor of St. Mark's. Here they con- 
structed some brigantines, and put to sea in hope of reaching 
Mexico. After shipwrecks and almost endless wanderings, 
four men only of all the company, under the leadership of the 
heroic De Vaca, reached the village of San Miguel, on the 
Pacific coast, and were conducted to the city of Mexico. 



30 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



8. In the year 1537 Ferdinand de Soto 

e Sotos a pp j nte( j governor of Cuba and Flo- 

Expedition. 1 \ & . . 

nda, with the privilege of exploring and 

conquering the latter country. He selected six hundred 

of the most gallant and daring young Spaniards, and great 

preparations were made for the conquest. Arms and stores 

were provided ; shackles were wrought for the slaves ; tools 

for the forge and workshop were supplied; twelve priests were 

chosen to conduct religious ceremonies ; and a herd of swine 

was driven on board to fatten on the maize and mast of the 

country. 

9. The fleet first touched at Havana, where De Soto left 
his wife to govern Cuba during his absence. After a voyage 
of two weeks, the ships cast anchor in Tampa Bay. Some of 
the Cubans who had joined the expedition were terrified and 
sailed back to the security of home; but De Soto and his 
cavaliers began their march into the interior. In October of 
1539 they arrived at the country of the Appalachians, where 
they spent the winter. For four months they remained in this 
locality, sending out exploring parties in various directions. 
One of these companies reached Pensacola, and made arrange- 
ments that supplies should be sent out from Cuba to that 
place in the following summer. 

10. In the early spring the Spaniards continued their march 
to the north and east. An Indian guide told them of a popu- 
lous empire in that direction; a woman was empress, and the 
land was full of gold. De Soto and the freebooters pressed on 
through the swamps and woods, and in April, 1540, came upon 
the Ogeechee River. Here the Indian guide went mad, and 
lost the whole company in the forest. By the 1st of May they 
reached South Carolina, near where De Ayllon had lost his 
ships. 

11. From this place the wanderers passed across Northern 
Georgia from the Chattahoochee to the Coosa ; thence down 
that river to Lower Alabama. Here they came upon the 



SPANISH DISCOVERIES IN AMERICA. 



31 




De Soto Reaches the Mississippi. 

Indian town of Mauville, or Mo- 
bile, where a battle was fought 
with the natives. The town was set on fire, and two thousand 
five hundred of the Indians were killed or burned to death. 
Eighteen of De Soto's men were killed and a hundred and fifty 
wounded. The Spaniards also lost most of their horses and 
baggage. 

12. De Soto and his men next turned to the north, and by 
the middle of December reached the country of the Chicka- 
saws. They crossed the Yazoo, and found an Indian village, 
which promised them shelter for the winter. Here, in Febru- 
ary, 1541, they were attacked by the Indians, who set the town 
on fire, but Spanish weapons and discipline 

again saved De Soto and his men. ^ Di «° Very .° ■ 

, a the Mississippi. 

13. The Spaniards next set out to journey 

farther westward, and the guides brought them to the Missis- 
sippi. The point where the Father of Waters was first seen 



32 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



by White men was a little north of the thirty-fourth parallel of 
latitude ; the day of the discovery can not certainly be known. 
The Indians came down the river in a fleet of canoes, and 
offered to carry the Spaniards over ; but a crossing was not 
effected until the latter part of May. 

14. De Soto's men now found themselves in the land of the 
Dakotas. The natives at one place were going to worship the 
Spaniards, but De Soto would not permit such idolatry. They 
continued their march to the St. Francis River; thence west- 
ward for about two hundred miles ; thence southward to the 
tributaries of the Washita River. On the banks of this stream 
they passed the winter of 1541-42. 

15. De Soto now turned toward the sea, 

D^Soto^ an( ^ came u P on tne Mississippi in the neigh- 
borhood of Natchez. His spirit was com- 
pletely broken. A fever seized upon his emaciated frame, and 
death shortly ensued. The priests chanted a requiem, and in 
the middle of the night his companions put his body into a 
rustic coffin and sunk it in the Mississippi. 

16. Before his death, De Soto had named Moscoso as his 
successor. Under his leadership, the half-starved adventurers 
next crossed the country to the upper waters of the Red River, 
and then ranged the hunting-grounds of the Pawnees and the 
Comanches. In December of 1542 they came again to the 
Mississippi, where they built seven boats, and on the 2d of 
July, 1543, set sail for the sea. The distance was almost five 
hundred miles, and seventeen days were required to make the 
descent- On reaching the Gulf of Mexico, they steered to the 
southwest, and finally reached the settlement at the mouth of 
the River of Palms. 

17. The next attempt to colonize Florida was in the year 
1565. The enterprise was intrusted to Pedro Menendez, a 
Spanish soldier. He was commissioned by Philip II. to plant 
in some favorable district of Florida a colony of not less than 
five hundred persons, and was to receive two hundred and 



SPANISH DISCOVERIES IN AMERICA. 



33 



Founding of 
St. Augustine. 



twenty-five square miles of land adjacent to the settlement. 
Twenty-five hundred persons joined the expedition. 

1 8. The real object of Menendez was to destroy a colony of 
French Protestants, called Huguenots, who had made a settle- 
ment near the mouth of the St. John's River. This was within 
the limits of the territory claimed by Spain. The Catholic 
party of the French court had communicated with the Spanish 
court as to the whereabouts and intentions of the Huguenots, 
so that Menendez knew where to find and how to destroy them. 

19. It was St. Augustine's day when the 
Spaniards came in sight of the shore, and 
the harbor and river which enters it were 
named in honor of the saint. On the 8th day of Septem- 
ber, Philip II. was proclaimed monarch of North America; 
a solemn mass was said by 
the priests ; and the foun- 
dations of the oldest town 
in the United States were 
laid. This was seventeen 
years before the founding 
of Santa Fe, and forty-two 
years before the settlement 
at Jamestown. 

20. Menendez soon 
turned his attention to the 
Huguenots. He collected 
his forces at St. Augustine, 
stole through the woods, 
and falling on the defense- 
less colony, utterly destroy- 
ed it. Men, women, and 
children were alike given 
up to butchery. Two hundred were massacred. A few escaped 
into the forest, Laudonniere, the Huguenot leader, among the 
number, and were picked up by two French ships. 

3.— U. S. Hist, 




Pedro Menendez. 



34 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



21. The crews of the vessels were the next object of venge- 
ance. Menendez discovered them, and deceiving them with 
treacherous promises, induced them to surrender. As they 
approached the Spanish fort a signal was given, and seven 
hundred defenceless victims were slain. Only a few mechanics 
and Catholic servants were left alive. 

22. The Spaniards had now explored the coast from the 
Isthmus of Darien to Port Royal in South Carolina. They 
were acquainted with the country west of the Mississippi as 
far north as New Mexico and Missouri, and east of that river 
they had traversed the Gulf States as far as the mountain 
ranges of Tennessee and North Carolina. With the establish- 
ment of their first permanent colony on the coast of Florida, 
the period of Spanish voyage and discovery may be said to end. 

23. A brief account of the only impor- 
Portuguese tant voyages of the Portuguese to Amer- 
Explorations. . . 

ica will here be given. In 1495, John II., 

king of Portugal, was succeeded by his cousin Manuel, who, in 
order to secure some of the benefits which yet remained to dis- 
coverers, fitted out two vessels, and in the summer of 1501 
sent Gaspar Cortereal to make a voyage to America. 

24. The Portuguese ships reached Maine in July, and ex- 
plored the coast for nearly seven hundred miles. Little atten- 
tion was paid by Cortereal to the great forests of pine which 
stood along the shore, promising ship-yards and cities. He 
satisfied his rapacity by kidnapping fifty Indians, whom, on his 
return to Portugal, he sold as slaves. A new voyage was then 
undertaken, with the purpose of capturing another cargo of 
natives ; but a year went by, and no tidings arrived from the 
fleet. The brother of the Portuguese captain sailed in hope 
of finding the missing vessels. He also was lost, but in what 
manner is not known. The fate of the Cortereals and their 
slave-ships has remained a mystery of the sea. 



CHAPTER V. 



The French in America. 



F 



RANCE was not slow to profit by the 
discoveries of Columbus. As early 



Early French 
Explorations. 



as 1504 the fishermen of Normandy and 
Brittany reached the banks of Newfoundland. A map of the 
Gulf of St. Lawrence was drawn by a Frenchman in the year 
1506. Two years later some Indians were taken to France; 
and in 15 18 the attention of Francis I. was turned to the New 
World. In 1523 John Verrazano, of Florence, was commis- 
sioned to conduct an expedition for the discovery of a north- 
west passage to the East Indies. 

2. In January, 1524, Verrazano left the shores of Europe, 
with a single ship, called the Dolphin. After fifty days he dis- 
covered the mainland in the latitude of Wilmington. He sailed 
southward and northward along the coast and began a traffic 
with the natives. The Indians were found to be a timid race, 
unsuspicious and confiding. A half-drowned sailor, washed 
ashore by the surf, was treated with kindness, and permitted to 
return to the ship. 

3. The voyage was continued toward the north. The coast 
of New Jersey was explored, and the hills marked as containing 
minerals. The harbor of New York was entered, and at New- 
port Verrazano anchored for fifteen days. Here the French 
sailors repaid the confidence of the natives by kidnapping a 
child and attempting to steal an Indian girl. 

4. From Newport, Verrazano continued his explorations 
northward. The long line of the New England coast was 
traced with care. The Indians of the north would buy no toys, 
but were eager to purchase knives and weapons of iron. In the 



(35) 



36 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



latter part of May, Verrazano reached Newfoundland. In July 
he returned to France and published an account of his great 
discoveries. The name of New France was given to the 
country. 

5. In 1534, James Cartier, a seaman 

^ «^ r T ier 0n of St. Malo, made a voyage to America, 
the St. Lawrence. 7 J 

His two ships, after twenty days of sailing, 

anchored on the 10th day of May off the coast of Newfound- 
land. Cartier circumnavigated the island, crossed the Gulf of 
St. Lawrence, and ascended the estuary until the narrowing 
banks made him aware that he was in the mouth of a river. 
Cartier, thinking it impracticable to pass the winter in the 
New World, set sail for France, and in thirty days reached 
St. Malo. 

6. Another voyage was planned immediately. Three ships 
were provided ; a number of young noblemen joined the ex- 
pedition, and on the 19th of May the voyage was begun. The 
passage to Newfoundland was made by the 10th of August. 
It was the day of St. Lawrence, and the name of that martyr 
was given to the gulf and to the stream which enters it from 
the west. The expedition proceeded to the island of Orleans, 
where the ships were moored. Two Indians, whom Cartier 
had taken with him to France, gave information that there was 
an important town higher up the river. Proceeding thither, 

the French captain found a village at the 

Island of of a high hill in the middle of an island. 

Montreal. 

Cartier named the island and town Mont 

Real, and the country was declared to belong to the king of 
France. During this winter twenty-five of Carder's men were 
swept off by the scurvy. 

7. With the opening of spring, a cross was planted on the 
shore, and the homeward voyage began. The good king of 
the Hurons was decoyed on board and carried off to die. 
On the 6th of July the fleet reached St. Malo ; but the 
accounts which Cartier published greatly discouraged the 



THE FRENCH IN AMERICA. 



37 



French ; for neither silver nor gold had been found in New 
France. 

8. Francis of Roberval was next commissioned by the 
court of France to plant a colony on the St. Lawrence. The 
man who was chiefly relied on to give character to the pro- 
posed colony was James Carrier. His name was accordingly 
added to the list, and he was honored with the office of chief 
pilot and Captain-general. 

9. It was difficult to find material for the colony. The 
French peasants were not eager to embark, and the work of en- 
listing volunteers went on slowly, until the government opened 
the prisons of the kingdom, giving freedom to whoever would 
join the expedition. There was a rush of robbers and swindlers, 
and the lists were immediately filled. Only counterfeiters and 
traitors were denied the privilege of gaining their liberty in the 
New World. 

10. In May of 1541, five ships, under 

command of Cartier, left France, reached .° T *°~ / 

' . site of Quebec, 

the St. Lawrence, and ascended the river 

to the site of Quebec, where a fort was erected and named 
Charlesbourg. Here the colonists passed the winter. Cartier 
soon sailed away with his part of the squadron, and returned 
to Europe. Roberval was left in New France with three ship- 
loads of criminals who could be restrained only by whipping 
and hanging. The winter was long and severe, and spring 
was welcomed for the opportunity which it gave of returning 
to France. 

11. About the middle of the sixteenth century Admiral 
Coligny, of France, formed the design of establishing in America 
a refuge for the Huguenots of his own country. In 1562 
John Ribault, of Dieppe, was selected to lead the Huguenots 
to the land of promise. In February the colony reached the 
coast of Florida near the site of St. Augustine. The River St. 
John's was entered and named the River of May. The vessel 
then sailed to the entrance of Port Royal; here it was deter- 



38 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



mined to make the settlement. The colonists were landed on 
an island, and a stone was set up to mark the place. A fort 
was erected and named Carolina. In this fort Ribault left 
twenty-six men, and then sailed back to France. In the fol- 
lowing spring the men in the fort mutinied and killed their 
leader. Then they built a rude brig and put to sea. They 
were at last picked up by an English ship and carried to France. 

12. Two years later another colony was 

. ^f,? 110 ? 1 , planned, and Laudonniere chosen leader, 
m Florida. r ' 

The character, however, of this second 

Protestant company was very bad. A point on the River 
St. John's was selected for the settlement. A fort was built 
here, but a part of the colonists contrived to get away with two 
of the ships. The rest of the settlers were on the eve of de- 
parture when Ribault arrived with supplies and restored order. 
It was at this time that Menendez discovered the Huguenots 
and murdered them. 

13. But Dominic de Gourgues, of Gascony, visited the 
Spaniards with signal vengeance. This man fitted out three 
ships, and with only fifty seamen arrived on the coast of Florida. 
He surprised three Spanish forts on the St. John's, and made 
prisoners of the inmates. Unable to hold his position, he 
hanged the leading captives to the trees, and put up this in- 
scription to explain what he had done : " Not as Spaniards, 
but as murderers." 

14. In the year 1598 the Marquis of La Roche was com- 
missioned to found a colony in the New World. The prisons 
of France were again opened to furnish the emigrants. The 
vessels reached Sable Island, a dismal place off Nova Scotia, 
where forty men were left to form a settlement. La Roche re- 
turned to France and died, and for seven years the forty crimi- 
nals languished on Sable Island. Then they were picked up 
and carried back to France, but were never remanded to prison. 

15. In the year 1603 the country, from the latitude of Phila- 
delphia to that of Quebec, was granted to De Monts. The 



THE FRENCH IN AMERICA. 



39 



chief provisions of his patent were a monopoly of the fur- 
trade, and religious freedom for the Huguenots. With two 
ship-loads of colonists De Monts left France in March of 
1604, and reached the Bay of Fundy. Poutrincourt, the cap- 
tain of one of the ships, asked and obtained a grant of some 
beautiful lands in Nova Scotia, and with a part of the crew 
went on shore. De Monts began to build a fort at the 
mouth of the St. Croix. But in the follow- 
ing spring they abandoned this place and Port^Royaf 
joined Poutrincourt. Here, on the 14th of 
November, 1605, the foundations of the first permanent French 
settlement in America were laid. The name of Port Royal 
was given to the fort, and 
the country was called 
Acadia. 

16. In 1603 Samuel 
Champlain, the most sol- 
dierly man of his times, 
wascommissionedby Rou- 
en merchants to establish 
a trading-post on the St. 
Lawrence. The traders 
saw that a traffic in furs 
was a surer road to riches 
than the search for gold 
and diamonds. Cham- 
plain crossed the ocean, 

sailed up the river, and Samuel cham P lain - 

selected the spot on which Quebec now stands as the site 

for a fort. In the autumn he returned to France. 

17. In 1608 Champlain again visited 
America, and on the 3d of July in that 
year the foundations of Quebec were laid. 
The next year he and two other Frenchmen joined a com- 
pany of Huron and Algonquin Indians who were at war with 




Founding of 
Quebec. 



40 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



the Iroquois of New York. With this band he ascended the 
Sorel River until he came to the long, narrow lake, which has 
ever since borne the name of its discoverer. 

1 8. In 1 612 Champlain came to New France for the third 
time, and the success of the colony at Quebec was assured. 
Franciscan monks came over and began to preach among the 
Indians. Champlain again went with a war-party against the 
Iroquois. His company was defeated, he himself wounded and 
obliged to remain all winter among the Hurons. In 161 7 he 
returned to the colony, and in 1620 began to build the fortress 
of St. Louis. Champlain became governor of New France, 
and died in 1635. To him, more than to any other man, the 
success of the French colonies in North America must be 
attributed. 



CHAPTER VI. 



O 



English Discoveries and Settlements. 

N the cth of May, 1496, Henry VII., 
, . r t- i j • • 1 -r John Cabot's 

king of England, commissioned John 



Discoveries. 

Cabot, of Venice, to make discoveries in 
the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, and to take possession of 
all countries which he might discover. Cabot was a brave, 
adventurous man, who had been a sailor from his boyhood, and 
was now a wealthy merchant of Bristol. Five ships were fitted 
out, and in April, 1497, the fleet left Bristol. On the morning 
of the 24th of June, the gloomy shore of Labrador was seen. 
This was the real discovery of the American continent. Four- 
teen months elapsed before Columbus reached the coast of 
Guiana, and more than two years before Vespucci saw the main 
land of South America. 

2. Cabot explored the coast of the country for several hun- 
dred miles. He supposed that the land was a part of the 
dominions of the Khan of Tartary; but finding no inhabi- 
tants, he went on shore and took possession in the name of 
the English king. No man forgets his native land; by the 
side of the flag of his adopted country Cabot set up the ban- 
ner of the republic of Venice — emblem of another republic 
which should one day rule from sea to sea. 

3. As soon as he had satisfied himself of the extent of the 
country, Cabot sailed for England. On the voyage he twice 
saw the coast of Newfoundland. After an absence of three 
months he reached Bristol, and was greeted with enthusiasm. 
The town had holiday, and the people were wild about the 
great discovery. The king gave him money ; new ships were 
fitted out, and a new commission was signed in February, 

(41) 



42 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Sebastian 
Cabot. 



1498. But after the date of this patent the name of John 
Cabot disappears from history. 

4. Sebastian, son of John Cabot, inherited 
his father's genius. He had already been 
to the New World on the first voyage, 
and now he took up his father's work with all the fervor of 
youth. The very fleet which had been equipped for John 
Cabot was intrusted to Sebastian. The object in view was the 
discovery of a northwest passage to the Indies. 

5. The voyage was made in the spring of 1498. Far to the 
north the icebergs compelled Sebastian to change his course. 

It was July, and the sun scarcely 
set at midnight. Seals were seen, 
and the ships plowed through such 
shoals of codfish as had never before 
been heard of. Labrador was again 
seen. New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, 
and Maine were next explored. The 
whole coast of New England and 
of the Middle States was now, for 
the first time since the days of the 
Norsemen, traced by Europeans. 
Nor did Cabot desist from this work, 
which was bestowing the title of dis- 
covery on the crown of England, until he reached Cape Hatteras. 

6. The future career of Cabot was a strange one. Henry VII. 
was slow to reward the discoverer. When that monarch died, the 
king of Spain enticed Cabot away from England and made him 
pilot-major of the Spanish navy. He lived to be very old, but the 
place and circumstances of his death are unknown. 

7. The year 1498 is the most marked in the whole history of 
discovery. In the month of May, Vasco da Gama, of Port- 
ugal, doubled the Cape of Good Hope and succeeded in reach- 
ing Hindostan. During the summer, the younger Cabot traced 
the eastern coast of North America through more than twenty 




Sebastian Cabot. 



ENGLISH DISCOVERIES AND SETTLEMENTS. 



43 



degrees of latitude. In August, Columbus himself reached the 
mouth of the Orinoco. Of the three great discoveries, that of 
Cabot has proved to be by far the most important. 

8. In 1493 Pope Alexander drew an imaginary line three 
hundred miles west of the Azores, and gave all countries west 
of that line to Spain. Henry VII. was a Catholic and did not 
care to have a conflict with his Church by claiming the New 
World. Henry VIII. adopted the same policy, and it was not 
until after the Reformation in England that the decision of the 
pope was disregarded. 

9. During the reign of Edward VI. the spirit of adventure 
was again aroused. In 1548 the old admiral Sebastian Cabot 
quitted Seville and once more sailed under the English flag. 
In the reign of Queen Mary the power of England on the sea 
was not materially extended, but with the accession of Elizabeth 
a new impulse was given to voyage and adventure. 

10. Martin Frobisher began anew the 

-1 r j ' , r , 11 t The Northwest 

work of discovery. Ihree small vessels 

J , , Passage. 

were fitted out to sail in search of a north- 
west passage to Asia. One ship was lost on the voyage , an- 
other returned to England, but the third sailed on as far north 
as Hudson Strait. A large island lying northward was named 
Meta Incognita. Frobisher entered the strait which has 
ever since borne his name, and then sailed for England, carry- 
ing with him an Esquimo and a stone said to contain gold. 

11. London was greatly excited. In May, 1577, a new 
fleet departed for Meta Incognita to gather the precious metal. 
But the vessels did not sail as far as Frobisher had done on a 
previous voyage. The mariners sought the first opportunity to 
get out of these dangerous seas and return to England. 

12. The English gold-hunters were not yet satisfied. Fifteen 
new vessels were fitted out, and in 1578 a third voyage was 
begun. Three of the ships, loaded with emigrants, were to 
remain in the promised land. The vessels, struggling through 
the icebergs, finally reached Meta Incognita and took on 



44 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Plans for 
Colonization. 



cargoes of dirt. With several tons of the supposed ore under 
the hatches, the ships set sail for home. The El Dorado of 
the Esquimos had proved a failure. 

13. In 1577 Sir Francis Drake, following Magellan, 
became a terror to the Spanish vessels in the Pacific. He 
hoped to find a northwest passage, and thence sail eastward 
around the continent. He proceeded northward as far as 
Oregon, when his sailors began to shiver with the cold, and 
the enterprise was given up. Drake passed the winter of 
1579-80 in a harbor on the coast of Mexico. 

14. Sir Humphrey Gilbert was per- 
haps the first to form a rational plan of 
colonization in America. His idea was to 
plant an agricultural and commercial state. Assisted by his 
illustrious half-brother, Walter Raleigh, Gilbert prepared 
five vessels, and in June of 1583 sailed for the west. In August 

Gilbert reached Newfound- 



land, and took possession of 
the country. Soon the sail- 
ors discovered some scales 
of mica, and went to digging 
the supposed silver, while 
others attacked the Spanish 
fishing-ships in the neighbor- 
ing harbors. 

15. One of Gilbert's ves- 
sels became worthless, and 
was abandoned. With the 
rest he sailed toward the 
south. Off the coast of 
Massachusetts the largest 
of the ships was wrecked, 
and a hundred sailors were drowned. Gilbert determined to 
return to - England. The weather was stormy, and the two 
ships now remaining were unfit for the sea. The captain 




Sir Walter Raleigh. 



ENGLISH DISCOVERIES AND SETTLEMENTS. 



45 



remained in the weaker vessel, called the Squirrel. As the 
ships were struggling through the sea at midnight, the 
Squirrel was suddenly engulfed ; not a man of the crew 
was saved. The other vessel finally reached Falmouth in 
safety. 

1 6. The project of colonization was renewed by Raleigh. In 
the spring of 1584 he obtained a new patent for a tract in 
America extending from the thirty-third to the fortieth parallel 
of latitude. This territory was to be peopled and organized 
into a state. Two ships were fitted out, and the command 
given to Philip Amidas and Arthur Barlow. 

17. In July the vessels reached Carolina. . . 

' J 3 Virginia. 

The woods were full of beauty and song. 
The natives were generous and hospitable. The shores of 
Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds were explored, and a landing 
effected on Roanoke Island, where the English were enter- 
tained by the Indian queen. But after a stay of two months 
Amidas and Barlow returned to England, praising the beau- 
ties of the new land. Queen Elizabeth gave to her delightful 
country in the New World the name of Virginia, for she 
was called the Virgin Queen. 

18. In December, 1584, Sir Walter fitted 

out a second expedition, and appointed Roanoke* 
Ralph Lane governor of the colony. Sir 
Richard Grenville commanded the fleet, and a company, partly 
composed of young nobles, made up the crew. The fleet of 
seven vessels reached Roanoke on the 26th of June. 

Here Lane was left with a hundred and ten of the immi- 
grants to form a settlement. But hostilities soon broke out 
between the English and the Indians ; and when Sir Francis 
Drake came with a fleet, the colonists prevailed on him to 
carry them back to England. 

19. Soon Sir Richard Grenville came to Roanoke with three 
well-laden ships, and made a fruitless search for the colonists. 
Not to lose possession of the country, he left fifteen men on the 



46 



HISTORY OF TH E UNITED STATES. 



island, and set sail for home. Another colony was easily made 
up, and in July the emigrants arrived in Carolina. A search for 
the fifteen men who had been left on Roanoke revealed the fact, 
that the natives had murdered them. Nevertheless, the north- 
ern extremity of the island was chosen as the site for a city. 

20. Disaster attended the enterprise. The Indians were hos- 
tile, and the fear of starvation soon compelled Governor White 
to return to England for supplies. The 18th of August was 
the birthday of Virginia Dare, the first-born of English children 
in the New World. Raleigh returned in 1590 to search for the 
unfortunate colonists. No soul remained to tell their story. 
Sir Walter, after spending two hundred thousand dollars, gave 
up the enterprise, and assigned his rights to am association of 
London merchants. 

21. The next English expedition was that 
English Explora- ^ g ARTHOLOMEW Gosnold in 1602. Thus 
tions in the North. 

far all the voyages to America had been by 
way of the Canary Islands and the West Indies. Abandoning 
this path, Gosnold, in a small vessel called the Concord, sailed 
directly across the Atlantic, and in seven weeks reached Maine. 
He explored the coast and went on shore at Cape Cod. It 
was the first landing of Englishmen within the limits of New 
England. He loaded the Concord with sassafras root, and 
reached home in safety. 

22. Another expedition to America was soon planned, with 
Martin Pring for commander. In April, 1603, his vessels 
came safely to Penobscot Bay, and spent some time in explor- 
ing the harbors of Maine. He loaded his vessels with sassa- 
fras at Martha's Vineyard, and returned to England, after an 
absence of six months. 

23. Two years later, George Waymouth made a voyage to 
America. He reached the coast of Maine, and explored a har- 
bor. Trade was opened with the Indians, some of whom returned 
with Waymouth Xo England. This was the last English expedi- 
tion before the actual establishment of a colony in America, 



\ 



CHAPTER VII. 



English Discoveries and Settlements. — (Continued.) 
~\N the ioth of April, 1606, King James I. issued two pat- 



ents to men of his kingdom, authorizing them to colonize 
all that portion of North America lying between the thirty- 
fourth and forty-fifth parallels of latitude. The immense tract 
extended from the mouth of Cape Fear River to Passama- 
quoddy Bay, and westward to the Pacific Ocean. 

2. The first patent was to an association of nobles, gentle- 
men and merchants called the London Company; and the 
second to a similar body bearing the name of the Plymouth 
Company. To the former corporation was given the region 
between the thirty-fourth and the thirty-eighth degrees of lati- 
tude, and to the latter the tract from the forty-first to the forty- 
fifth degree. The belt of three degrees between the thirty-eighth 
and forty-first parallels was to be open to colonies of either 
company, but no settlement of one party was to be made 
within less than a hundred miles of the nearest settlement of 
the other. 

3. The leading man in the London 

Company was Bartholomew Gosnold. His T ^ e London 

. . . Company, 

principal associates were Edward Wing- 
field, a rich merchant, Robert Hunt, a clergyman, and John 
Smith, an adventurer. The affairs of the company were to be 
administered by a Superior Council in England, and an Inferior 
Council in the colony. All legislative authority was vested in 
the king. A provision in the patent required the colony to 
hold all property in common for five years. The best law of 
the charter allowed the emigrants to retain in the New World 
all the rights of Englishmen. 




(47) 



4 8 



HJSTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



4. In 1606 the Plymouth Company sent 
The Plymouth . 4 . , . 

„ two ships to America, and m the summer 

Company. r 7 

of 1607 dispatched a colony of one hun- 
dred persons. A settlement was begun at the mouth of the 
Kennebec. The ships returned to England, leaving a colony 

of forty-five persons ; 
but in the winter of 
1607-8, some of the 
settlers were starved 
and some frozen ; the 
storehouse was burned, 
and the remnant escap- 
ed to England. 

5. The London Com- 
pany had better fortune. 
A fleet of three vessels 
was fitted out under 
command of Christo- 
pher Newport. In 
December the ships, 
having on board a hun- 
dred and five colon- 
ists, among whom were 
Wingfield and Smith, 
left England. Entering 
Chesapeake Bay, the 
vessels came to the mouth of a beautiful river, which was named 
in honor of King James. Proceeding up stream about fifty 
miles, Newport found on the northern bank a peninsula noted 
for its beauty ; the ships were moored and the emigrants went on 
shore. Here, on the 13th of May (Old Style), 
1607, were laid the foundations of James- 
town, the oldest English settle7tient in America. 
6. Meanwhile Captain John Smith, in 1609, left Jamestown 
and returned to England. There he formed a partnership with 




The First English Settlements. 



Settlement of 
Jamestown. 



ENGLISH DISCOVERIES AND SETTLEMENTS. 



49 



four wealthy merchants of London to trade in furs and estab- 
lish a colony within the limits of the Plymouth grant. Two 
ships were freighted with goods and put under Smith's com- 
mand. The summer of 1 6 14 was spent on the coast of Maine, 
where a traffic was carried on with the Indians. But Smith 
himself explored the country, and drew a map of the whole 
coast from the Penobscot to Cape Cod. 
In this map, the country was called New ^^^^^ 
England. 

7. In 161 5 a small colony of sixteen persons, led by Smith, 
was sent out in a single ship. When nearing the American 
coast, they encountered a storm and were obliged to return 
to England. The leader renewed the enterprise, and raised 
another company. Part of his crew mutinied in mid-ocean. 
His own ship was captured by a band of French pirates, and 
himself imprisoned. But he escaped and made his way to 
London. The years 161 7-18 were spent in making plans of 
colonization, until finally the Plymouth Company was super- 
seded by a new corporation called the Council of Plymouth. 
On this body were conferred almost unlimited powers and 
privileges. All that part of America lying between the fortieth 
and the forty-eighth parallels of north latitude, and extending 
from ocean to ocean, was given to forty men. 

8. John Smith was now appointed admiral of New England. 
The king issued a proclamation enforcing the charter, and every- 
thing gave promise of the early settlement of America. Mean- 
while the time had come when, without the knowledge or 
consent of James I. or the Council of Plymouth, a permanent 
settlement should be made on the shores of New England. 

9. About the close of the sixteenth cen- mi _ „ m 

. . The Puritans, 

tury, a number of poor Puritans m the 

north of England joined together for free religious wor- 
ship. They believed that every man has a right to know 
the truth of the Scriptures for himself. Such a doctrine 
was repugnant to the Church of England. Queen Eliza- 
4.— U. S. His. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



beth declared such teaching to be subversive of the monarchy. 
King James was also intolerant; and violent persecutions 
broke out against the sect. 

10. Many of the Puritans went into exile in Holland. They 
took the name of Pilgrims, and grew content to have no 
home or resting-place. But they did not forget their native 
land. They pined with unrest, and were anxious to do some- 
thing to convince King James of their patriotism. 

11. In 1617 the Puritans began to meditate a removal to 

the New World. John Carver and Robert Cushman were 

dispatched to England to ask permission to settle in America. 

The agents of the Council of Plymouth favored the request, 

but the king refused. The most that he would do was to 

make a promise to let the Pilgrims alone in America. 

m , „ 12. The Puritans were not discouraged. 

The Mayflower. & 

The Speedwell, a small vessel, was purchased 
at Amsterdam, and the Mayflower, a larger ship, was hired for 
the voyage. The former was to carry the emigrants to South- 
ampton, where they were to be joined by the Mayflower from 
London. Assembling at the harbor of Delft, as many of the 
Pilgrims as could be accommodated went on board the Speed- 
well. The whole congregation accompanied them to the shore, 
where their pastor gave them a farewell address, and the prayers 
of those who were left behind followed the vessel out of sight. 

13. On the 5th of August, 1620, the vessels left Southampton ; 
but the Speedwell was unable to breast the ocean, and put back 
to Plymouth. The Pilgrims were encouraged by the citizens, 
and the more zealous went on board the Mayflower for a final 
effort. On the 6th of September the first colony of New 
England, numbering one hundred and two souls, saw the 
shores of Old England sink behind the sea. 

14. For sixty-three days the ship was buffeted by storms. 
On the 9th of November the vessel was anchored in the bay 
off Cape Cod; a meeting was held and the colony organized 
under a solemn compact. In the charter which they made for 



ENGLISH DISCOVERIES AND SETTLEMENTS. 



5i 




The Landing of the Pilgrims. 

themselves the emigrants declared their loyalty to the English 
king, and agreed to live in peace and harmony. Such was the 
simple constitution of the oldest New England State. To this 
instrument all the heads of families, forty-one in number, set 
their names. An election was held, and John Carver was 
chosen governor. 

15. Miles Standish, John Bradford, and 

a few others, went on shore and explored 

^ , . of the Pilgrims. 

the country ; nothing was found but a heap 

of Indian corn under the snow. On the 6th of Decem- 
ber the governor landed with fifteen companions. The 
weather was dreadful. Snow-storms covered the clothes of the 
Pilgrims with ice. They were attacked by the Indians, but 
escaped to the ship with their lives. The vessel was at last 
driven by accident into a haven on the west side of the bay. 
The next day, being the Sabbath, was spent in religious 
services, and on Monday, the nth of December (Old Style), 
1620, the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock. 

16. It was the dead of winter. The houseless immigrants 
fell a-dying of hunger and cold. But a site was selected near 



52 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

the first landing, and, on the 9th of January, the toilers began 
to build New Plymouth. Every man took on himself the 
work of making his own house; but the ravages of disease 
grew daily worse. At one time only seven men were able to 
work on the sheds which were built for protection. If an early 
spring had not brought relief, the colony must have perished. 
Such were the sufferings of the winter when New England 
began its being. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Voyages and Settlements of the Dutch. 





The Half Moon on Hudson River. 



THE first Dutch settlement in Amer- 
ica was made on Manhattan Island. _ ,. „ 

India Company. 

The colony resulted from the voyages of 
Sir Henry Hudson. In the year 1607 this great sailor was 
employed by a company of London merchants to discover a 
new route to the Indies. He first made two unsuccessful 
voyages into the North Atlantic, and his employers gave up 
the enterprise. In 1609 the Dutch East India Company 
furnished him with a ship called the Half Moon, and in April 
he set out for the Indies. Again he ran among the icebergs, 
and further sailing was impossible. But not discouraged, he 
immediately set sail for America. 

2. In July Hudson reached the coast of Maine; and in 
August, the Chesapeake. On the 28th of the month he an- 

(53) 



54 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



chored in Delaware Bay, and on the 3d of September the 
Half Moon came to Sandy Hook. Two days later a land- 
ing was effected. The natives came with gifts of corn, 
wild fruit, and oysters. On the 10th the vessel passed the 
Narrows, and entered the noble river which bears the name 
of Hudson. 



19th of September the vessel was moored at Kinderhook; but 
an exploring party rowed up stream beyond the site of Albany. 
The vessel then dropped down the river, and on the 4th of 
October the sails were spread for Holland. But the Half 
Moon was detained in England. 

4. In the summer of 1610 a ship, called the Discovery, was - 
given to Hudson, who sailed in the track which Frobisher had 
taken, and on the 2d day of August entered the strait which 
bears the name of its discoverer. The great captain believed 
that the route to China was at last discovered ; but he soon 
found himself environed in the frozen gulf of the North. With 
great courage he bore up until his provisions were almost ex- 
hausted. Then the crew broke out in mutiny. They seized 
Hudson and his only son, with seven other faithful sailors, and 
cast them off among the icebergs. The fate of the illustrious 
mariner has never been ascertained. 

5. In 1 610 the Half Moon was liberated and returned to 
Amsterdam. In the same year several ships owned by Dutch 
merchants sailed to the banks of the Hudson and engaged in 
the fur-trade. In 1614 an act was passed by the States- General 
of Holland, giving to merchants of Amsterdam the right to trade 
and establish settlements in the country explored by Hudson. 
A fleet of five trading-vessels arrived in the summer of the same 
year at Manhattan Island. Here some rude huts had already 
been built by former traders, and the settlement was named 
New Amsterdam. 



Discovery of 
Hudson River. 



3. For eight days the Half Moon sailed up 
the river. Such beautiful forests and valleys, 
the Dutch had never seen before. On the 



VOYAGES AND SETTLEMENTS OF THE DUTCH. 55 

6. In the fall of 1 6 14 Adrian Block sailed into Long Island 
Sound, and made explorations as far as Cape Cod. Christianson, 
another Dutch commander, sailed up the river from Manhattan 
to Castle Island, and erected a block-house, which was named 
Fort Nassau. Cornelius May, the captain of a small vessel 
called the Fortune, sailed from New Amsterdam and explored 
the Jersey coast as far as the Bay of Delaware. Upon these 
two voyages Holland set up a claim to the country, which was 
now named New Netherlands, extending from Cape Hen- 
lopen to Cape Cod. Such were the feeble beginnings of the 
Dutch colonies in New York and Jersey. 



56 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Review Questions. — Part II. 

CHAPTER II. 

1. Tell about the Icelanders and Norwegians in America. 

chapter hi. 

2. Give an account of Columbus, and of his discoveries and explorations 
in the New World. 

3. Give an account of the voyage of Amerigo Vespucci, and of how this 
Continent came to be known by his name. 

4. What were the services of Balboa, and of Ponce de Leon ? 

chapter IV. 

5. Sketch the later discoveries by the Spaniards in America. 

6. Tell of the coming of the Portuguese. 

chapter v. 

7. Trace the progress of the French discoverers and explorers on the 
new Continent. 

chapter VI. 

-8. Give an account of the commission, and of the explorations of John 
and Sebastian Cabot. 

9. What work of discovery was attempted by Martin Frobisher, and 
with what result ? 

10. Outline the colonization schemes of Sir Humphrey Gilbert and 
Sir Walter Raleigh. 

11. What change of plan for colonization was adopted by Gosnold, and 
with what success ? 

chapter VII. 

12. Tell of the Royal Patents to the London and Plymouth Companies. 

13. Sketch the efforts of the Plymouth Company toward colonization, 
and the coming of the Puritans. 

chapter VIII. 

14. Give an account of the voyages and final successes of Sir Henry 
Hudson. 

15. On what did the Dutch base their early claim to lands in America? 



Part III. 
COLONIAL HISTORY. 

A. D. 1607-1754. 



CHAPTER IX. 
Virginia — The First Charter. 



<^URE OF 




Mali 




THE first settlers at Jamestown were 
idle and improvident. Only twelve Colon y at 
r J Jamestown, 

of those who came in 1607 were common 

laborers. There were four carpenters in the company, six or 
eight masons and blacksmiths, and a long list of gentlemen. The 
few married men had left their families in England. 

(57) 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



2. The affairs of the colony were badly managed. Captain 
John Smith, the best man in the colony, was suspected of 
making a plot to murder the council and to make himself king 
of Virginia. He was arrested and confined until the end of the 
voyage. When the colonists reached their destination, the 
king's instructions were unsealed and the names of the Inferior 
Council made known. A meeting was held and Edward 
Wingfield elected first governor. 

3. As soon as the settlement was well begun, Smith and 
Newport, with twenty others, explored James River for forty- 
five miles. Just below the falls, the explorers found the capital 
of Powhatan, the Indian king. But the " city " was only 
a squalid village of twelve wigwams. The monarch received 
the foreigners with courtesy and showed no dislike at the 
intrusion. 

4. The colonists now began to realize their situation. They 
were alone in the New World. Winter was approaching. Dread- 
ful diseases broke out, and the colony was brought almost to 
ruin. At one time only five men were able to go on duty as 
sentinels, and before the middle of September one half of the 
colonists died. But the frosts came, and disease was checked. 

5. Civil dissension arose. President Wing- 

. field and George Kendall were detected 

Dissensions. . 

in embezzling the stores, and were re- 
moved from office. RatclifTe was then chosen president, but 
was found incompetent. Only Martin and Smith now re- 
mained in the council, and the latter took charge of the colony. 
Under his administration the new settlement soon began to 
show signs of progress. His first care was to improve the 
buildings of the plantation; then to secure a supply of provisions. 
There had been a plentiful harvest among the Indians ; but the 
work of procuring corn was not an easy task. Descending James 
River to Hampton Roads, Smith landed with five companions 
and offered the natives hatchets and copper coins in exchange 
for corn. 



VIRGINIA THE FIRST CHARTER. 



59 



6. But the Indians only laughed at the proposal. The 
English then charged on the wigwams, and the warriors were 
obliged to purchase peace by loading the boats of the English 
with corn. Soon the Indians in the neighborhood began to 
come with voluntary contributions. The fear of famine passed 
away. The woods were full of wild turkeys. Good discipline 
was maintained in the colony, and friendly relations were 
established with the natives. The colonists became cheerful 
and happy. 

7. As soon as winter set in, the president, with six English- 
men and two Indian guides, began to explore along the Chick- 
ahominy. It was believed by the people of Jamestown that by 
going up this stream they could reach the Pacific Ocean / Smith 
knew the absurdity of such an opinion, but humored it because 
of the opportunity it gave him to see the country and make maps. 

8. The president and his companions as- 
cended the river until it dwindled to a mere Ca ? tf ^ m ^ h and 

the Indians. 

creek. The men who were left to protect 
the boats were attacked by Indians, and several of the 
English were killed. Smith was wounded with an arrow, and 
chased through the woods. He fought, ran, and fired by turns, 
but was finally overtaken. 

9. Smith demanded to see the Indian chief, and excited his 
curiosity by showing him a pocket-compass and a watch. These 
instruments struck the Indians with awe ; but the savages bound 
their captive to a tree, and prepared to shoot him, but he 
flourished his compass in the air and the Indians were afraid 
to fire. 

10. Smith was next taken to Orapax, a few miles from the 
site of Richmond. Here he found the Indians making prepa- 
rations to attack Jamestown. They invited him to become 
their leader, but he refused and managed to write a warning 
letter to his countrymen. This letter, because of its mysterious 
power of carrying intelligence, frightened them more than 
ever. When the warriors arrived at Jamestown and found 



6o 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



everything as Smith 
had said, all thought 
of attacking the col- 
ony was given up. 

ii. The Indians 
now marched their 
captive from village 
to village. Near the 
fork of York River, 
at Pamunkey, Smith 
was turned over to 
the priests, who as- 
sembled in their 
Long House and for 
three days danced 
around him, sang 
and yelled, to deter- 
mine by this wild 
ceremony what his 
fate should be. The decision was against him, and he was 
condemned to death. 

12. Smith was next taken to a town 
where Powhatan lived in winter. The sav- 
age monarch, now sixty years of age, took 
his seat in the Long House. His two daughters sat near him, 
and warriors and women were ranged around the hall. The 
king reviewed the cause and confirmed the sentence of death. 
Two large stones were brought, Smith was dragged forth 
bound, and his head put into position to be crushed with a 
war-club; but as the executioner raised his club, Matoaka, # 
the eldest daughter of Powhatan, rushed between it and the 
prostrate prisoner. She clasped his head in her arms and held 




Captain John Smith. 



Pocahontas 
saves Smith. 



* Powhatan's tribe had a superstition that a person whose real name was 
unk?iown could not be injured. They therefore told the English falsely that 
Matoaka's name was Pocahontas. 



VIRGINIA THE FIRST CHARTER. 6l 

on until her father ordered Smith to be unbound. Soon it was 
agreed that he should return to Jamestown. 

13. Only thirty-eight of the settlers were now alive, and 
these were frost-bitten and half-starved. Their leader had 
been absent for seven weeks. The old fears of the colonists 
had revived, and when Smith returned he found all hands pre- 
paring to abandon the settlement. He induced the majority 
to abandon this project, but the rest, burning with resentment, 
made a conspiracy to kill him. 

14. In these days Newport arrived from England, bringing 
supplies and a hundred and twenty immigrants. But the 
new-comers were gentlemen, gold-hunters, jewelers, engravers, 
adventurers, and strollers. Smith was much vexed at this, for 
he had urged Newport to bring over only a few industrious 
mechanics and laborers. 

15. Soon the new-comers and some of the old settlers began 
to stroll about the country digging for gold. At the mouth of 
a small creek some glittering particles were found, and the 
whole settlement was thrown into excitement. Soon afterwards 
a company sailed up James River to find the Pacific Ocean! 
Fourteen weeks were consumed in this nonsense. Even the 
Indians ridiculed the madness of men who were wasting their 
chances for a crop of corn. 

16. But Smith had formed the design 

of exploring Chesapeake Bay and its tribu- ^^jj^** 7 
taries. Accompanied by Dr. Russell and 
thirteen others, he left Jamestown on the 2d day of June. 
He steered his barge by way of Hampton Roads as far 
as Smith's Island. Returning thence around Cape Charles, 
he continued northward as far as the river Wicomico, then 
crossed over to the Patuxent, and thence northward to the 
Patapsco. Then steering southward he had the good fortune 
to enter the mouth of the Potomac and continue the voyage 
as far as the falls at Georgetown. He then dropped down the 
river to the bay, and reached Jamestown on the 21st of July. 



62 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



17. After three days a second voyage was begun. The 
expedition reached the head of the bay, and sailed far up the 
Susquehanna. On the return, Smith explored every sound 
and inlet of any note as far as the Rappahannock. This stream 
he ascended to the head of navigation, and then returned 
to Jamestown. He had been absent a little more than three 
months, and had explored the coast of the great bay for fully 
three thousand miles. Now he was come back to the colony 
with a Map of the Chesapeake, which he sent by New- 
port to England, and which is still preserved. 

18. Smith was now formally elected presi- 
Smith Elected , , 

_ ., A dent. Soon there was a marked change 
President. . 

for the better; gold-hunting ceased, and 

the rest of the year was noted as a time of prosperity. In the 
autumn Newport arrived with seventy additional immigrants. 
The health was so good that only seven deaths occurred be- 
tween September and the following May. Every well man was 
obliged to work six hours a day. New houses were built, new 
fields fenced in ; and through the winter the sound of ax and 
hammer gave token of a prosperous and growing village. 

19. On the 23d day of May, 1609, King James granted to 
the London Company a new charter for the government of Vir- 
ginia. The territory was extended from Cape Fear to Sandy 
Hook, and westward to the Pacific Ocean. The members of the 
Superior Council were now to be chosen by the stockholders 
of the company, vacancies were to be filled by the councilors, 
who were also to elect a governor. The new council was at 
once organized, and Lord De La Ware chosen governor for 
life. Five hundred emigrants were collected, and in June 
a fleet of nine vessels sailed for America. Lord Delaware did 
not himself accompany the expedition. In July the ships, then 
in the West Indies, were scattered by a storm. One vessel was 
wrecked, and another, having on board the commissioners of 
Delaware, was driven ashore on one of the Bermudas; the 
other seven ships came safely to Jamestown, 



VIRGINIA THE FIRST CHARTER. 



63 



20. Captain Smith continued in authority under the old 
constitution ; but' the colony was in an uproar. The president 
was in daily peril of his life. He put some of the most rebel- 
lious brawlers in prison, and planned two new settlements — 
one, of a hundred and twenty men, at Nansemond ; the other, 
of the same number, at the falls of the James. Both companies 
behaved badly. In a few days after their departure troubles 
arose with the Indians. While attempting to quell these diffi- 
culties, Smith was wounded, and fearing the imperfect medical 
treatment which the colony afforded, he decided to return 
to England. He accordingly delegated his authority to Sir 
George Percy, and about the middle of September, 1609, left 
the scene of his toils and sufferings, never to return. 

21. A colony of four hundred and ninety 

persons remained at Jamestown. The settle- The Starving 
r J Time, 

ment was soon brought face to face with 

starvation. The Indians became hostile ; stragglers were 

murdered; houses were set on fire; disease returned to add 

to the desolation ; and cold and hunger made the winter long 

remembered as The Starving Time. By the last of March 

only sixty persons were left alive. 

22. Meanwhile, Sir Thomas Gates and his companions, who 
had been shipwrecked in the Bermudas, constructed two small 
vessels, and came to Virginia, where a few wan, half-starved 
wretches crawled out of their cabins to beg for bread ! What- 
ever stores the commissioners had brought with them were 
distributed, and Gates assumed control of the government. 
But the colonists had now determined to abandon the place 
forever. In vain did the commissioners remonstrate. An 
agreement was made to sail for Newfoundland, and on the 
8th of June the colonists, embarking in their four boats, 
dropped down the river, and Jamestown was abandoned. 

23. Lord Delaware was already on his way to America. 
Before the escaping settlers had reached the sea, the ships of 
the governor came in sight with additional immigrants, plen- 



6 4 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



tiful supplies, and promise of better things. The colonists 
returned, and before nightfall the fires were again kindled at 
Jamestown. On the next day the governor caused his com- 
mission to be read, and entered upon the discharge of his 
duties. His amiability and virtue, and the wisdom of his 
administration, endeared him to all and inspired the colony 
with hope. 

24. Lord Delaware was compelled, on account of ill-health, 
to return to England. His authority was delegated to Percy, 
the deputy of Captain Smith. The Superior Council had 
already dispatched new stores and more emigrants, under Sir 
Thomas Dale. When the vessel arrived at Jamestown, Percy 
was superseded by Dale, who adopted a system of martial law 
as the basis of his administration. In the latter part of August, 
Sir Thomas Gates arrived with six ships, three hundred addi- 
tional immigrants, and a large quantity of stores. 

25. Thus far the property of the settlers 

Divided at J amest:own na ^ been held in common. 

Now the right of holding private prop- 
erty was recognized. Governor Gates had the lands divided 
so that each settler should have three acres of his own ; every 
family might cultivate a garden and plant an orchard, the fruits 
of which no one but the owner was allowed to gather. The 
benefits of this system of labor were at once apparent, and the 
laborers became cheerful and industrious. 



CHAPTER X. 



Charter Government. — (Continued.) 

IN the year 1612 the London Company obtained from the 
king a third patent, by which the government was again 
changed. The Superior Council was abolished, and the stock- 
holders were authorized to elect their own officers and to gov- 
ern the colony on their own responsibility. The new patent 
was a great step toward a democratic form of government in 
Virginia. 

2. In 161 3 Captain Samuel Argall, on an expedition up 
the Potomac, learned that Pocahontas was residing in that 
neighborhood. He enticed the girl on board his vessel and 
carried her captive to Jamestown. It was decided that Pow- 
hatan should pay a heavy ransom for his daughter's liberation. 
The king refused, and ordered his tribes to prepare for war. 
Meanwhile, Pocahontas was converted to the Christian faith 
and became a member of the Episcopal Church. 

3. Soon afterwards John Rolfe, of the colony, sought the 
hand of the princess in marriage. Powhatan gave his con- 
sent, and the nuptials were celebrated in the 

spring of the next year. Three years later, ^ocahontas^ 
Pocahontas, while visiting in England, fell 
sick and died. There was left of this marriage a son, who 
came to Jamestown, and to whom several families of Virginians 
still trace their origin. John Randolph of Roanoke was a 
descendant of Pocahontas. 

4. Captain Argall was next sent with an armed vessel to 
the coast of Maine, to protect the English fishermen, and to 
destroy the colonies of France, if any should be found within 
the territory claimed by England. The French authorities of 

5.— U. S. Hist. (65) 



66 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 




Marriage of Pocahontas. 



Expedition 
against Acadia. 



Acadia were building a village near the mouth of the Penob- 
scot. The settlement was pillaged and the houses burned. 

The French colony at the mouth of the St. 
Croix was attacked, and the fort cannon- 
aded and destroyed; the hamlet at Port 
Royal was burned. By these outrages, the French settlements 
in America were confined to the banks of the St. Lawrence. 

5. In March of 16 14 Sir Thomas Gates returned to Eng- 
land, leaving the government with Dale. In these times the 
laws of the colony were much improved, and the industry took 
a better form. Hitherto the settlers had engaged in planting 
vineyards and in the manufacture of soap, glass, and tar. The 
managers of the company had at last learned that these articles 



CHARTER GOVERNMENT. 



6 7 



could be produced more cheaply in Europe than in America, 

while some products of the New World might be raised and 

exported with great profit. The chief of these 

was the tobacco-plant, the use of which had _ 

01 Tobacco. 

become fashionable in Spain, England, and 
France. This, then, became . the leading staple of the colony, 
and was even used for money. So entirely did the settlers 
give themselves to the cultivation of the weed that the streets 
of Jamestown were plowed up and planted with it. 

6. In 16 1 7 the unprincipled Captain Argall was elected 
governor. When the news of his fraudulent and violent pro- 
ceedings reached England emigration ceased, and Lord Dela- 
ware embarked for Virginia, in the hope of restoring order. But 
he died on the voyage, and Argall continued in office until 16 19, 
when Sir George Yeardley was appointed to succeed him. 

7. Martial law was now abolished. Taxes 

i 1 j t r 1 r The House of 

were repealed, and the people freed from 

1 11 Burgesses, 

many burdens. Governor Yeardley divided 

the plantations into eleven boroughs, and ordered the citizens 
of each to elect two of their number to take part in the govern- 
ment. The elections were duly held, and on the 30th of July, 
161 9, the Virginia House of Burgesses was organized — the 
first popular assembly in the New World. In this body there 
was freedom of debate but very little political power. 

8. The year 16 19 was also marked by 

the introduction of slavery. The servants Production of 

Slavery. 

at Jamestown had hitherto been English or 
Germans, whose term of service had varied from a few months 
to many years. No perpetual servitude had thus far been recog- 
nized. In the month of August a Dutch man-of-war sailed up 
the river to the plantations, and offered by auction twenty 
Africans. They were purchased by the wealthier class of plant- 
ers, and made slaves for life. 

9. There were now six hundred men in the colony, for the 
most part rovers who intended to return to England. Very few 



68 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



families had emigrated. In this condition of affairs, Sir Thomas 

Smith was superseded by Sir Edwyn Sandys, a man of prudence 

and integrity. In the summer of 1620, the 
Wives for ^ , * 

A . „ , v . new treasurer sent to America a company 

the Colonists. F J 

of twelve hundred and sixty-one persons. 
Among the number were ninety young women of good breeding 
and modest manners. In the following spring, sixty others 
of similar good character came over, and received a hearty 
welcome. 

10. When Sandys sent these women to America, he charged 
the colonists with the expense of the voyage, as the company 
was bankrupt. An assessment was made, and the rate fixed at 
a hundred and twenty pounds of tobacco for each passenger — 
a sum which the settlers cheerfully paid. There were merry 
marriages at Jamestown, and the social condition was much im- 
proved. When the second shipload came, the cost of transpor- 
tation was a hundred and fifty pounds for each passenger, which 
was also paid without complaint. 

11. In July of 1 62 1 the London Com- 
of Laws P anv gave to Virginia a code of written laws, 

and in October Sir Francis Wyatt, who 
had been commissioned as governor, began to administer the 
new constitution. The colony was found in a flourishing con- 
dition. The settlements extended for a hundred and forty 
miles along the banks of James River, and far into the interior. 
But the Indians had grown jealous of the colonists. Poca- 
hontas was dead. The peaceable Powhatan had likewise 
passed away. Opechancanough, who succeeded him in 161 8, 
had long been plotting the destruction of the English, and the 
time had come for the tragedy. 

12. Until the very day of the massacre, 
The Indian ^ e Indians continued on terms of friend- 

JXl3iSS SLCTG 

ship with the colonists. On the 2 2d of 
March, at midday, the work of butchery began. Every ham- 
let in Virginia was attacked. Men, women, and children were 



CHARTER GOVERNMENT. 



69 



indiscriminately slaughtered, until three hundred and forty- 
seven had perished under the hatchets of the savages. 

13. But Indian treachery was thwarted by Indian faithful- 
ness. A converted Red man, wishing to save an Englishman 
who had been his friend, went to him on the night before the 
massacre and revealed the plot. The alarm was spread, and 
thus the greater part of the colony escaped destruction. But 
the outer plantations were entirely destroyed. The people 
crowded together on the larger farms about Jamestown, until 
of the eighty settlements there were only eight remaining. 
Still, there were sixteen hundred brave men in the colony ; and 
the next year the population increased to two thousand five 
hundred. 

14. The liberal constitution of Virginia soon 

proved offensive to King James. A commit- cancelled 
tee was appointed to look into the affairs of 
the London Company. The commissioners performed their 
duty, and reported that the company was unsound in its princi- 
ples, that the treasury was bankrupt, and that the government 
of Virginia was very bad. 

15. Legal proceedings were now instituted against the com- 
pany, and the judges decided that the patent was null and void. 
The charter was canceled by the king, and in June of 1624 
the London Company ceased to exist. But its work had 
been well done. A torch of liberty had been lighted on the 
banks of the James, which all the tyranny of after times could 
not extinguish. 



CHAPTER XI. 
Virginia.— The Royal Government. 

A ROYAL government was now estab- 
lished in Virginia consisting of a gov- 
urovernors. to & & 

ernor and twelve councilors. The General 
Assembly of the colony was left undisturbed, and the rights 
of the colonists remained as before. Governor Wyatt was con- 
tinued in office. Charles I., the successor of King James, paid 
but little attention to the affairs of his American colony until the 
commerce in tobacco attracted his.notice, and he then made an 
unsuccessful attempt to gain a monopoly of the trade. 

2. In 1626 Governor Wyatt retired from office, and Yeard- 
ley, the old friend of the colonists, was reappointed. The 
young State was never more prosperous than under this adminis- 
tration, which was ended with the governor's death in 1627. 
During the preceding summer a thousand new immigrants had 
come to swell the population of the province. 

3. The council of Virginia had the right, in case of an emer- 
gency, to elect a governor. In this manner Francis West was 
chosen by the councilors ; but as soon as the death of Yeard- 
ley was known in England, King Charles commissioned John 
Harvey to assume the government. He arrived in the autumn 
of 1629, and became a most unpopular chief magistrate. He 
began his administration by taking the part of certain land 
speculators against the people. The assembly of 1635 passed 
a resolution that Sir John Harvey be thrust out of office, and 
Captain West be appointed in his place " until the king's pleas- 
ure may be known in this matter." But King Charles treated 
the whole affair with contempt, and Harvey continued in 

(70) 



VIRGINIA. — THE ROYAL GOVERNMENT. 7 1 

power until the year 1639, when he was superseded by Wyatt, 
who ruled until the spring of 1642. 

4. About this time monarchy was abolished in England. 
Oliver Cromwell was made Lord Protector of the Common- 
wealth, and this government continued until Charles II., exiled 




Effect of the 
Protectorate. 



Life at Old Jamestown. 

son of Charles I., was restored to the throne of England. Vir- 
ginia shared in some degree the distractions of the mother- 
country. In 1642 Sir William Berkeley be- 
came governor, and remained in office for ten 
years. His administration was noted as a 
time of rapid growth and development. The laws were greatly 
improved. The old disputes about the lands were satisfac- 
torily settled. Cruel punishments w T ere abolished, and the 
taxes equalized. The general assembly was regularly convened, 
and Virginia became a free and prosperous State. In 1646 
there were twenty thousand people in the colony. 

5. In March of 1643, a law was enacted by the assembly 
declaring that no person who disbelieved the doctrines of the 



7 2 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



English Church should be allowed to teach, or to preach the 

gospel, within the limits of Virginia. This act was the source 

of much bitterness among the people. The few Puritans were 

excluded from places of trust, and some were driven from their 

homes. Governor Berkeley was a leader in these persecutions, 

by which all friendly relations with New England were broken 

off for many years. 

6. Next came another war with the Indians. Early in 1644, 

the natives planned a general massacre. On the 18th of April 

the savages fell upon the frontier settlements, and murdered 

three hundred people before assistance could be brought. The 

warriors then fled, but were closely followed by the English. 

Opechancanough was captured, and died a -prisoner. The 

tribes were punished without mercy, and were soon glad to buy 

a peace by the cession of large tracts of land. 

7. For a while the colonists conducted 

their government as they wished. The im- 
of Governors. & : 

portant matter of choosing a governor was 

submitted to the House of Burgesses; when so great a power 

had been once exercised, it was not likely to be relinquished. 

Three governors were chosen in this way, and the privilege of 

electing soon became a right. The assembly even declared 

that such a right existed, and that it should not be taken away. 

8. In 1660 Samuel Matthews, the last of the three elected 
governors, died. The Burgesses were convened and an ordi- 
nance passed declaring that the supreme authority of Virginia 
was in the colony, and would continue there until a delegate 
should arrive from the British government. The house then 
elected as governor Sir William Berkeley, who acknowledged 
the right of the Burgesses to choose. 

9. As soon as it was known in Virginia that Charles II. had 
become king, Governor Berkeley issued writs in the name of 
the king for the election of a new assembly. The adherents of 
the Commonwealth were thrust out of office, and royal favor- 
ites established in their places. The Virginians soon found 



VIRGINIA. THE ROYAL GOVERNMENT. 



73 



that they had exchanged a republican tyrant with good 
principles for a monarchial tyrant with bad ones. The former 
commercial system was reenacted in a worse form than ever. 
The new law provided that all the colonial commerce should 
be carried on in English ships ; the trade of the colonies was 
burdened with a heavy tax, and tobacco, the staple of Vir- 
ginia, could be sold nowhere but in England. 

10. King Charles soon began to reward 

the profligates who thronged his court, _ . ,. 
^ b b . ' Restoration. 

by granting them large tracts of land in 
Virginia. It was no uncommon thing for an American planter 
to find that his farm had been given away to some flatterer 
of the royal household, and finally, in 1673, the king set a 
limit to his own recklessness by giving away the whole province. 
Lord Culpepper and the Earl of Arlington received a deed by 
which was granted to them for thirty-one years all the country 
called Virginia. 

11. The colonial legislation of these times was selfish and 
narrow-minded. The aristocratic party had obtained control 
of the House of Burgesses. A statute was passed against the 
Baptists, and the peace-loving Quakers were fined and perse- 
cuted. Personal property was heavily taxed, while the large 
estates were exempt. The salaries of the officers were secured 
by a duty on tobacco, and the biennial election of Burgesses 
was abolished. 

12. When the people were worn out with the governor's 
exactions, they availed themselves of a pretext to assert their 
rights by force of arms. A war with the Susquehanna Indians 
furnished the occasion for an insurrection. The tribes about the 
head of Chesapeake Bay fell upon the English settlers of Mary- 
land, and the banks of the Potomac became the scene of a bor- 
der war. Virginia and Maryland made common cause. John 
Washington, great-grandfather of the first President, led a com- 
pany of militia against the Indians, and a devastating warfare 
raged along the whole frontier. 



74 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



13. Governor Berkeley sided with the Indians; but the 
colonists remembered only the acts of treachery of which the 
Red men had been guilty, and thirsted for revenge. The 
aristocratic party took sides with the governor and favored 
a peace; while the popular party, led by young Nathaniel 
Bacon, clamored for war. 

14. Five hundred men rushed to arms. 
Rebemon Berkeley and the aristocratic faction pro- 
claimed Bacon a traitor. Troops were levied 
to disperse the militia : but scarcely had Berkeley and his forces 
left Jamestown when another popular uprising compelled him to 
return. Bacon came home victorious. The old assembly was 
broken up, and a new one elected on the basis of universal suf- 
frage. Bacon was chosen a member, and made commander of 
the Virginia army. A force was now stationed on the frontier, 
and peace returned to all the settlements. But Berkeley re- 
paired to the county of Gloucester, where he summoned a con- 
vention of loyalists, and Bacon was again proclaimed a traitor. 

15. The governor's forces were collected on the eastern shore 
of the Chesapeake; the crews of some English ships were joined 
to his command, and the fleet set sail for Jamestown. The 
place was taken without much resistance; but when Bacon 
and the patriots drew near, the loyal forces went over to his 
standard. Berkeley was again obliged to fly, and the capital 
was held by the people's party. It was now rumored that 
an English fleet was approaching for the subjugation of the 
colonies. The patriot leaders held a council, and it was decided 
that Jamestown should be burned. Accordingly, in the dusk 
of the evening the torch was applied, and the only town in 
Virginia was laid in ashes. 

16. In this juncture of affairs Bacon fell sick and died, and 
the patriot party was easily dispersed. A few feeble efforts 
were made to revive the cause of the people, but the animat- 
ing spirit was gone. The royalists found an able captain in 
Robert Beverly, and the authority of the governor was rapidly 



VIRGINIA. THE ROYAL GOVERNMENT. 



75 



restored. Berkeley's vindictive passions were now let loose 
upon the defeated insurgents. Twenty-two of the leading patriots 
were seized and hanged with scarcely time to bid their friends 
farewell. Nor is it certain when the executions would have 
ended had not the assembly met and passed an act that no 
more blood should be spilled for past offenses. 

17. The consequences of the rebellion were very disastrous. 
Berkeley and the aristocratic party had now a good excuse for 
suppressing all liberal principles. The printing-press was inter- 
dicted. Education was forbidden. To speak or to write any 
thing against the administration or in defense of the late insur- 
rection, was made a crime to be punished by fine or whipping. 
If the offense should be three times repeated, it was declared 
to be treason punishable with death. The former methods of 
taxation were revived, and Virginia was left at the mercy of 
arbitrary rulers. 

18. In 1675 Lord Culpepper, to whom, 

with Arlington, the province had been Proprietary 
. 1 . Government. 

granted, obtained the appointment of gov- 
ernor for life, and Virginia became a proprietary government. 
The new magistrate arrived in 1680 and assumed the duties of 
his office. His administration was characterized by avarice 
and dishonesty. Regarding Virginia as his personal estate, he 
treated the Virginians as his tenants and slaves. 

19. In 1683, Arlington surrendered his claim to Culpepper, 
who thus became sole proprietor as well as governor. Charles 
II., however, soon found in Culpepper's vices and frauds a 
sufficient excuse to remove him from office and to revoke his 
patent. In 1684 Virginia again became a royal province, 
under the government of Lord Howard, of Effingham. The 
affairs of the colony during the next fifty years are not of suffi- 
cient interest and importance to require extended notice. 
When the French and Indian War shall come, Virginia will 
show to the world that the labors of Smith and Gosnold and 
Bacon were not in vain. 



CHAPTER XII. 



Massachusetts. — Settlement and Union. 



Early 
Struggles. 



THE spring of 1621 brought hope to 
the Pilgrims of New Plymouth. The 
winter had swept off half the number. 
The governor himself sickened and died. Now, with the ap- 
proach of warm weather, the pestilence was checked, the sur- 
vivors revived with the season, 
and the Puritans came forth 
triumphant. 

2. In February Miles Standish 
was sent out with his soldiers 
to gather information concerning 
the natives. The army of New 
England consisted of six men 
besides the general. Deserted 
wigwams were found; the smoke 
of camp-fires arose in the dis- 
tance; savages were occasion- 
ally seen in the forest. These 
fled at the approach of the 
English, and Standish returned 
to Plymouth. 

3. A month later a Wampa- 
noag Indian, named Samoset, 
ran into the village and bade 
the strangers welcome; friendly 

relations were soon established with the Wampanoags. Massa- 
soit, the sachem of the nation, was invited to visit Plymouth. 
The Pilgrims received him with much ceremony, and then and 
(76) 




A Puritan. 



MASSACHUSETTS. SETTLEMENT AND UNION. 77 



there was ratified the first treaty made in New England. This 
treaty remained inviolate for fifty years. Other chiefs followed 
the example of Massasoit. Nine of the 

tribes acknowledged the English king. One Relations with 

° & s t h e Indians, 

chief sent to William Bradford, who suc- 
ceeded Governor Carver, a bundle of arrows wrapped in the 
skin of a rattlesnake; but the governor stuffed the skin with 
powder and balls and sent it back to the chief, who did not 
dare to accept the challenge. 

4. The summer was unfruitful, and the Pilgrims were brought 
to the point of starvation. New immigrants, without provi- 
sions or stores, arrived, and were quartered on the colonists 
during the winter. For six months the settlers were obliged 
to subsist on half allowance. At one time only a few grains of 
corn remained to be distributed, and at another there was abso- 
lute want. Then some English fishing-vessels came to Ply- 
mouth and charged the colonists two prices for food enough to 
keep them alive. The new immigrants remained at Plymouth 
until the summer of 1622, then removed to the south side of 
Boston harbor and founded Weymouth. 

5. The summer of 1623 brought a plentiful harvest, and 
there was no longer any danger of starvation. The natives 
became dependent on the settlement for corn, and brought in 
an abundance of game. At the end of the fourth year, there 
were a hundred and eighty persons in New England. The 
managers, who had expended thirty-four thousand dollars 
on the enterprise, were discouraged, and proposed to sell out 
their claims to the colonists. The offer was accepted; and, in 
November of 1627, eight of the leading men of Plymouth 
purchased from the Londoners their entire interest for nine 
thousand dollars. 

6. Before this transfer, the colony had been much vexed by 
the attempt to set over them a minister of the English Church. 
They had come to the New World to avoid this very thing. 
There was dissension for a while. The English managers with- 



7 8 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Government of 
the Colonies. 



held support ; the stores of the colonists were sold to them at 
three prices ; and they were obliged to borrow money at sixty 
per cent. But the Pilgrims would not yield, and the conflict 
ended with the purchase of the proprietors' rights in the colony. 

7. In 1624 a settlement was made at 
Cape Ann, but after two years the cape 
was abandoned; the company moved far- 
ther south and founded Salem. In 1628 a second colony arrived 
in charge of John Endicott, who was chosen governor. In 

1629 Charles I. issued a 
charter by which the col- 
onists were incorporated 
under the name of The 
Governor and Com- 
pany of Massachusetts 
Bay in New England. 
In July two hundred 
immigrants ar- 
rived, half of 
whom settled 
at Plymouth, 
while the other 
half removed 
to the north 
side of Bos- 
ton harbor 
and founded 
Charlestown. 
8. In Sep- 

Early Settlements in Eastern Massachusetts. tember 1 629 

it was decreed that the government of the colony should be 
transferred from England to America, and that the charter 
should be intrusted to the colonists themselves. Emigration 
then began on an extensive scale. In the year 1630 about 
three hundred of the best Puritan families came to New 




MASSACHUSETTS. — SETTLEMENT AND UNION. 79 



England. They were virtuous, well-educated, courageous men 
and women, who left comfortable homes with no expectation of 
returning. It was their good fortune to choose a noble leader. 

9. The name of John Winthrop, governor of Massachusetts, 
is worthy of lasting remembrance. Born a royalist, he cher- 
ished the principles of republicanism. Surrounded with af- 
fluence and comfort, he left all to share the destiny of the 
Pilgrims. Calm, prudent, and peaceful, he joined the zeal of 
an enthusiast with the faith of a martyr. A part of the new 
immigrants settled at Salem; others at Cambridge and Water- 
town, on Charles River; while others founded Roxbury and 
Dorchester. The governor resided for a while at Charles- 
town, but soon crossed over to the peninsula of Shawmut and 
founded Boston, which became henceforth the capital of the 
colony. 

10. In 1 63 1 a law was passed restrict- 
ing the right of suffrage. It was enacted i^o^ance 
that none but church members should be 

permitted to vote at the elections. Nearly three fourths of 
the people were thus excluded from exercising the rights of 
freemen. Taxes were levied for the support of the gospel; 
attendance on public worship was enforced by law ; none but 
members of the church were eligible to office. The very men 
who had so recently escaped with only their lives to find 
religious freedom in another continent, began their career in 
the New World with intolerance. 

11. Young Roger Williams, minister of Salem, cried out 
against these laws. For this he was obliged to quit the min- 
istry of the church at Salem and retire to Plymouth. Finally, 
in 1634, he wrote a paper in which he declared that grants of 
land, though given by the king of England, were invalid until 
the natives were justly paid. When arraigned for these teach- 
ings, he told the court that a test of church-membership in a 
voter was as ridiculous as the selection of a doctor on account 
of his skill in theology. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 



12. After a trial, Williams was condemned 

R0 ^anMed amS ^ 0r neres ^ anc ^ banished. In mid-winter 
he left home and became an exile in 
the forest. For fourteen weeks he wandered through the 
snow, sleeping on the ground or in a hollow tree, living on 
parched corn and acorns. He carried with him a private letter 
from the good Governor Winthrop, and the Indians showed 
him kindness. Wandering from place to place, in June of 
1636 he became the founder of Rhode Island by laying out 
the city of Providence. 

13. In 1634 a representative form of government was estab- 
lished in Massachusetts. The restriction on the right of suf- 
frage was the only remaining bar to free government in New 
England. During the next year three thousand new immi- 
grants arrived. It was worth while to come to a country where 
the principles of freedom were recognized. 

14. New settlements were now formed at a distance from 
the bay. One company of twelve families marched through 
the woods to some open meadows sixteen miles from Boston, 
and there founded Concord. Another colony of sixty per- 
sons pressed their way westward to the Connecticut River, 
and became the founders of Windsor, Hartford, and 
Wethersfield. 

15. The banishment of Roger Williams created strife anion 
the people of Massachusetts. The ministers were stern and 
exacting. Still, the advocates of free opinion multiplied. The 
clergy, notwithstanding their great influence, felt insecure 
Religious debates became the order of the day. Every sermon 
was reviewed and criticised. 

16. Prominent among those who were accused of heresy was 
Mrs. Anne Hutchinson, who desired the privilege of speaking 
at the weekly debates, and was refused. Indignant at this, 
she became the champion of her sex, and declared that the 
ministers were no better than Pharisees. She called meetings 
of her friends, and pleaded with fervor for the freedom of 



« 



MASSACHUSETTS. SETTLEMENT AND UNION. 8 1 



conscience. The doctrines of Williams were reaffirmed with 
more power and eloquence than ever. 

17. The synod of New England convened in August of 
1637, and Mrs. Hutchinson and her friends were banished 
from Massachusetts. A large number of the exiles wended 
their way toward the home of Roger Williams. Miantonomah, 
a Narragansett chieftain, made them a gift of the island of 
Rhode Island; there, in 1641, a little republic was established, 
in which persecution, for opinion's sake, was forbidden. 

18. In 1636 the general court of the col- 

j • . , Harvard College 

ony passed an act appropriating between Founded 

one and two thousand dollars to found a 
college. Newtown was selected as the site of the proposed 
school. Plymouth and Salem gave gifts to help the enterprise ; 
and from villages in the Connecticut valley came contributions 
of corn and wampum. In 1638 John Harvard, a minister of 
Charlestown, died, bequeathing his library and nearly five 
thousand dollars to the school. To perpetuate his memory, 
the new institution was named Harvard College. At the 
same time the name of Newtown was changed to Cambridge. 

19. The printing-press came also. In 1638 Stephen 
Daye, an English printer, arrived at Boston, and in the follow- 
ing year set up a press at Cambridge. The first American 
publication was an almanac for New England, bearing date of 
1639. During the next year, Thomas Welde and John Eliot, 
two ministers of Roxbury, and Richard Mather, of Dorchester, 
translated the Hebrew Psalms into English verse. This was 
the first book printed in America. 

20. New England was fast becoming a nation. Well-nigh 
fifty villages dotted the face of the country. Enterprises of all 
kinds were rife. Manufactures, commerce, and the arts were 
introduced. William Stephens, a shipbuilder of Boston, had 
already built and launched an American vessel of four hundred 
tons burden. Twenty-one thousand two hundred people had 
found a home between Plymouth Rock and the Connecticut, 

6.-U. 3, Hist, 



82 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



21. Circumstances suggested a union of 
The Union of ^ , . ™, , r . 

- n , . the colonies. 1 he western frontier was ex- 
the Colonies. 

posed to the hostilities of the Dutch on 
the Hudson. Similar trouble was apprehended from the French 
on the north. Indian tribes capable of mustering a thousand 
warriors were likely at any hour to fall upon the helpless vil- 
lages. Common interests made a union indispensable. 

22. The first effort to consolidate the colonies was ineffec- 
tual. But in 1643, a plan of union was adopted, by which 
Massachusetts, Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven were 
joined in a confederacy, called The United Colonies of New 
England. The chief authority was conferred upon an assem- 
bly composed of two representatives from each colony. These 
delegates were chosen annually at an election where all the 
freemen voted by ballot. There was no president other than 
the speaker of the assembly. Provision was made for the 
admission of other colonies into the union, but none were ever 
admitted. 

23. At a meeting of the assembly in December, 1641, Na- 
thaniel Ward brought forward a written instrument, which was 
adopted as the constitution of the State. This statute was called 
the Body of Liberties, and was ever afterward esteemed as 
the great charter of colonial freedom. 

24. In July of 1656 the Quakers began 
Persecution of . , ^ , a . i 

^ . . to arrive at Boston. Ine first who came 

the Quakers. 

were Ann Austin and Mary Fisher. They 
were caught and searched for marks of witchcraft, and then 
thrown into prison. After several weeks' confinement they 
were brought forth and banished. Before the end of the year, 
eight others were arrested and sent back to England. A law 
was passed that Qifakers who persisted in coming to Massa- 
chusetts should have their ears cut off and their tongues bored 
through with a red-hot iron. In 1657 the assembly of the 
four colonies convened, and the penalty of death was passed 
against the Quakers as disturbers of the public peace. 



MASSACHUSETTS. SETTLEMENT AND UNION. 



83 



25. The English Revolution had now run its course. Crom- 
well was dead. Tidings of the restoration of Charles II. 
reached Boston on the 27th of July, 1660. On the reestab- 

lishment of the English monarchy, a law was 

• Trade 
passed by which all vessels not bearing the Restrictions 

English flag were forbidden to trade in New 

England. Articles produced in the colonies and demanded 

in England should be shipped to England only. The products 

of England should not be manufactured in America, and should 

be bought from England only ; and a duty of five per cent, was 

put on both exports and imports. This was the beginning of 

those measures which produced the American Revolution. 

26. In 1664 war broke out between England and Holland. 
It became a part of the English plans to conquer the Dutch 
settlements on the Hudson. Charles II. was also anxious to 
obtain control of all the New England colonies. He therefore 
appointed four commissioners to settle colonial disputes, and to 
exercise authority in the name of the king. The real object 
was to get possession of the charter of Massachusetts. In July, 
1664, the royal judges arrived at Boston. They were rejected 
in all the colonies except Rhode Island. Meanwhile, the 
English monarch, learning how his judges had been received, 
recalled them, and they left the country. For ten years after 
this event the colony was very prosperous. 




Harvard College in 1770. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



Massachusetts. — War and Witchcraft. 

THE old king Massasoit died in 1662. His son, Alexander, 
now became chief of the nation, but died within the year; 
and the chieftainship descended to the younger brother, Philip 
of Mount Hope. It was the fate of this brave man to lead 
his people in a final struggle against the whites. Causes of war 
already existed, and the time had come for the conflict. 

2. The natives of New England had sold 
Km War^ 8 tnerr l^ds. The English were the purchasers; 

the chiefs had signed the deeds; the price 
had been fairly paid. There were at this time in the country east 
of the Hudson about twenty-five thousand Indians and fifty 
thousand English. The young warriors could not understand 
the validity of land-titles. They sighed for the freedom of their 
fathers' hunting-grounds. The Wampanoags had nothing left 
but the peninsulas of Bristol and Tiverton. There were per- 
sonal grievances also. King Alexander had been arrested, tried 
by an English jury, and imprisoned. He had caught his death- 
fever in a Boston jail. ' On the 24th of June, 1675, the village 
of Swanzey was attacked, and eight Englishmen were killed. 

3. Within a week the militia of Plymouth, joined by volun- 
teers from Boston, entered the enemy's country. A few Indians 
were overtaken and killed. The troops marched into the pen- 
insula of Bristol, and compelled Philip to fly for his life. A 
general Indian war broke out. The hatred of the savages was 
easily kindled into hostility. For a whole year the settlements 
on the frontier became a scene of burning and massacre. 

4. King Canonchet of the Narragansetts first made a treaty 
of peace with the English, but later violated it and chose to 
share the fate of Philip. But after much desperate fighting 

(84) 



MASSACHUSETTS. — WAR AND WITCHCRAFT. 85 



and heavy losses on both sides, the resources of the savages 
were exhausted and their numbers daily grew less. In April, 
1676, Canonchet was captured on the banks of the Blackstone. 
Refusing to make a treaty, the haughty chieftain was put to 
death. Philip's company had dwindled to a handful. His 
wife and son were made prisoners; the latter was sold as a 
slave, and ended his life in the Bermudas. The savage mon- 
arch cared no longer to live. A company of soldiers surrounded 
him near his old home at Mount Hope. A treacherous Indian 
took a deadly aim at the breast of his chieftain. The report 
of a musket rang through the woods, and the king of the Wam- 
panoags sprang forward and fell dead. 

5. New England suffered terribly in this war. The losses 
of the war amounted to five hundred thousand dollars. Thir- 
teen towns and six hundred dwellings lay in ashes. Six hun- 
dred men had fallen in the field. Gray-haired sire, mother 
and babe had sunk together under the blow of the Red man's 
tomahawk. Now there was peace again. The Indian race 
had been swept out of New England. The tribes beyond the 
Connecticut came and pleaded for their lives. The colonists 
returned to their farms and villages, to build new homes in the 
ashes of old ruins. 

6. The next trouble was concerning the 

province of Maine. Sir Ferdinand Gorges, ^7|^ ce 
the old proprietor, was now dead ; but 
his heirs still claimed the territory. The people of Maine had 
put themselves under the authority of Massachusetts; but the 
heirs of Gorges carried the matter before the English council, 
and in 1677 a decision was given in their favor. The Boston 
government then made a proposition to the Gorges family to 
purchase their claims ; this was accepted, and for the sum of 
twelve hundred and fifty pounds the province was transferred 
to Massachusetts. 

7. A similar difficulty arose in regard to New Hampshire. 
As early as 1622 the Plymouth council had granted this terri- 



86 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



tory to Ferdinand Gorges and Captain John Mason. Seven 
years afterward Gorges surrendered his claim to Mason, who 
thus became sole proprietor. But this terri- 
tory was also covered by the charter of 
New Hampshire. J J 

Massachusetts. Mason died, and in 1679 his 

son Robert came forward and claimed the province. This 
cause was also taken before the ministers, who decided that 
the title of the younger Mason was valid. To the great dis- 
appointment of the people of both provinces the two govern- 
ments were separated. A royal government, the first in New 
England, was now established over New Hampshire, and 
Edward Cranfield became Governor. 

8. But the people refused to recognize Cranfield's authority. 
The king attributed this conduct to the influence of Massa- 
chusetts, and directed his judges to make an inquiry as to 
whether Massachusetts had not forfeited her charter. In 
1684 the royal court gave a decision in accordance with the 
monarch's wishes. But before the charter could be revoked, 
Charles II. fell sick and died. 

9. The new king, James II., adopted his 

Royal Governor ] 3ro tHer , s policy, and in 1686 the scheme 

of New England. . 

so long entertained was carried out. The 

charter of Massachusetts was formally revoked; all the 
colonies between Nova Scotia and Narragansett Bay were 
consolidated, and Sir Edmund Andros was appointed royal 
governor of New England. 

10. His despotism was quickly extended from Cape Cod 
Bay to the Piscataqua. The civil rights of New Hampshire 
were overthrown. In May of 1686, the charter of Rhode 
Island was taken away and her constitution subverted. The 
seal was broken, and a royal council appointed to conduct the 
government. Andros next proceeded to Connecticut. Arriv- 
ing at Hartford in October of 1687, he found the assembly 
in session, and demanded the surrender of the charter. The 
instrument was brought in and laid upon the table. A debate 



MASSACHUSETTS. — WAR AND WITCHCRAFT. 87 




Andros demanding the Charter of Connecticut. 



ensued, and continued until evening. When it was about to 
be decided that the charter should be given up, the lamps 
were dashed out. Other lights were brought in; but the 
charter had disappeared. Joseph Wads worth, snatching up 
the parchment, bore it oft' through the darkness and con- 
cealed it in a hollow tree, ever afterwards remembered as The 
Charter Oak. But the assembly was overawed, and the 
authority of Andros established throughout the country. 

11. His dominion ended suddenly. The English Revo- 
lution of 1688 was at hand. James II. was driven from his 
throne ; the system of arbitrary rule which he had established 
fell with a crash, and Andros with the rest. The news of the 
accession of William and Mary reached Boston on the 4th of 
April, 1689. On the 18th of the month, the citizens of Boston 
rose in rebellion. Andros was seized and marched to prison. 



88 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



The insurrection spread; and before the ioth of May, New 
England had regained her liberties. 

12. In 1689 war was declared between 

King William s Erance anc [ England. This conflict is known 
War. . & . 

m American history as King William's 

War. When James II. escaped from his kingdom, he took 
refuge at the court of Louis XIV. of France. The two mon- 
archs were Catholics, and on this account an alliance was 
made between them. Louis agreed to support James in his 
effort to recover the English throne. Parliament, meanwhile, 
had conferred the crown on King William. Thus the new 
sovereign was brought into conflict with the exiled James and 
his ally, the king of France. The war which thus originated 
in Europe soon extended to the French and English colonies 
in America. 

13. The struggle began on the frontier of New Hampshire 
in June, 1689. Later in the same year, the English and the 
Mohawks entered into an alliance, but the latter refused to 
make war upon their countrymen of Maine. The Dutch settle- 
ments of New Netherland made common cause with the English 
against the French. 

14. New England at length became thoroughly aroused. 
To provide the means of war, a congress was convened at New 
York. Here it was resolved to attempt the conquest of Canada. 
At the same time, Massachusetts was to cooperate by sending 
a fleet up the St. Lawrence against Quebec. Thirty-four 
vessels, carrying two thousand troops, were fitted out, and the 
command given to Sir William Phipps. Proceeding first against 
Port Royal, he compelled a surrender; the whole of Nova 
Scotia submitted without a struggle. The expedition was fool- 
ishly delayed until October; and an Indian carried the news 
to the governor of Canada. When the fleet came in sight of 
the town, the castle was so well garrisoned as to bid defiance 
to the English ; and it only remained for Phipps to sail back to 
Boston. To meet the expenses of this expedition, Massachu- 



MASSACHUSETTS. — WAR AND WITCHCRAFT. 89 



setts issued bills of credit which were made a legal tender. 
Such was the origin of paper money in America. 

15. Meanwhile, the land forces had proceeded from Albany 
to Lake Champlain. Here dissensions arose among the com- 
manders, and the expedition had to be abandoned. The war 
continued nearly five years longer, but with only here and there 
a marked event. 

16. Early in 1697, commissioners of France and England 
assembled at the town of Ryswick, in Holland; and, on the 
10th of the following September, a treaty of peace was con- 
cluded. King William was acknowledged as the rightful 
sovereign of England, the colonial boundary-lines of the two 
nations in America were established as before, and King 
William's war was at an end. 

17. The darkest page in the history of 

New England is that which records the witchcraft 
Salem Witchcraft. In February of 1692, 
in that part of Salem afterwards called Danvers, a daughter 
and a niece of Samuel Parris, the minister, were attacked with 
a nervous disorder which rendered them partially insane. Parris 
pretended to believe the girls were bewitched, and that an 
Indian maid-servant was the author of the affliction. He 
accordingly tied the ignorant creature and whipped her until 
she confessed herself a witch. Here, perhaps, the matter 
would have ended had not other causes existed for the spread 
of the delusion. 

18. But Parris had a quarrel in his church. A part of 
the congregation disbelieved in witchcraft, while Parris and 
the rest thought such disbelief the height of wickedness. The 
celebrated Cotton Mather, minister of Boston, had recently 
preached much on the subject of witchcraft, teaching that witches 
were dangerous and ought to be put to death. Sir William 
Phipps, the royal governor, was a member of Mather's church. 

19. By the laws of England and of Massachusetts, witchcraft 
was punishable with death. In the early history of the colony, 



9° 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



one person charged with being a wizard had been arrested at 
Charlestown, convicted and executed. But many people had 
now grown bold enough to denounce the baleful superstition ; 
and something had to be done to save witchcraft from falling 
into contempt. A special court was accordingly appointed by 
Phipps to go to Salem and judge the persons accused. 

20. On the 21st of March the proceedings began. Mary 
Cory was arrested, brought before the court, convicted, and 
hurried to prison. Sarah Cloyce and Rebecca Nurse, two in- 
nocent sisters, were next apprehended as witches. The only 




A Suspected Witch. 



witnesses against them were the foolish Indian woman and 
the niece of Parris. The victims were sent to prison, protest- 
ing their innocence. And so the work went on, until sev- 
enty-five innocent people were locked up in dungeons. In 
hope of saving their lives, some of the prisoners confessed 
themselves witches. It was soon found that those were to be 
put to death who denied the reality of witchcraft. Five women 
were hanged in one day. 

21. Between June and September, twenty victims were hur- 
ried to their doom. Fifty-five others were tortured into the 



MASSACHUSETTS. WAR AND WITCHCRAFT. 



9 1 



confession of falsehoods. A hundred and fifty lay in prison 
awaiting their fate. Two hundred were accused or suspected, 
and ruin seemed to impend over New England. But a reaction 
at last set in among the people. The court which Phipps had 
appointed to sit at Salem was dismissed. The prisons were 
opened, and the victims of superstition went forth free. In the 
beginning of the next year, a few persons were arrested and tried 
for witchcraft. Some were even convicted; but not another 
life was sacrificed. 

22. Most of those who participated in these terrible scenes 
confessed the wrong which they had done ; but confessions 
could not restore the dead. Mather, in a vain attempt to jus- 
tify himself, wrote a book in which he expressed his thankful- 
ness that so many witches had met their just doom ; and the 
hypocritical pamphlet received the approbation of the presi- 
dent of Harvard College. 

23. In less than four years after the 
treaty of Ryswick, France and England 
were again involved in a war which soon 

extended to the American colonies. In the year 1700 Charles 
II., king of Spain, died, having named as his successor Philip 
of Anjou, a grandson of Louis XIV. This measure pointed to 
a union of the crowns of France and Spain. The jealousy of 
England, Holland, and Austria was aroused; the archduke 
Charles, of the latter country, was put forward as a candidate 
for the Spanish throne ; and war was declared against Louis 
XIV. for supporting Philip. 

24. In 1 70 1 James II., the exiled king of Great Britain, died 
at the court of Louis, who now recognized the son of James as 
sovereign of England. This action was regarded as an insult 
to English nationality. King William prepared for war, but 
did not live to carry out his plans. In May of 1702 he died, 
leaving the crown to his sister-in-law, Anne, daughter of James 
II. From the fact of her sovereignty, the conflict with France 
is known in American history as Queen Anne's War ; but a 



92 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

better name is the War of the Spanish Succession. This con- 
tinued feebly through eleven years, and with many of the hor- 
rors incident to Indian warfare, as the Indians were leagued 
with the French against the English. 

25. On the nth of April, 1713, a treaty was concluded at 
Utrecht, a town of Holland. By it England obtained control 
of the fisheries of Newfoundland. Labrador, the Bay of Hud- 
son, and Nova Scotia, were ceded to Great Britain. On the 
13th of July a second treaty was concluded with the Indians, 
by which peace was secured throughout the colonies. 

26. In the times that followed Queen Anne's war, the people 
were greatly dissatisfied with the royal governors. The oppo- 
sition to those officers took the form of a controversy about 
their salaries. The royal commissions gave to each officer a 
fixed salary, which was frequently out of proportion to the 
services required. The difficulty was finally adjusted by an 
agreement that the salaries should be allowed annually, and 
the amount fixed by vote of the assembly. 

27. On the death of Charles VI. of 

,„ & Austria, m 1740, there were two claim- 
War. 7/1-7 

ants to the crown of the empire — Maria 
Theresa, daughter of the late emperor, and Charles Albert of 
Bavaria. Each claimant had his party and his army; war 
followed ; and nearly all the nations of Europe were swept into 
the conflict. England and France were arrayed against each 
other. The contest that ensued is generally known as the War 
of the Austrian Succession, but in American history is called 
King George's War, for George II. was now king of 
England. In America the only important event of the war 
was the capture of Louisburg, on Cape Breton Island. 

28. In 1748 a treaty of peace was concluded at Aix-la- 
Chapelle, a town of western Germany. Nothing was gained 
but a restoration of conquests. Not a single boundary line 
was settled by the treaty. The real war between France and 
England for supremacy in the West was yet to be fought. 



MASSACHUSETTS. WAR AND WITCHCRAFT. 93 



29. The history of Massachusetts has now 

, A , -i 1 r i Character of 

been traced through a period of one hun- ^ Puritans 

dred and thirty years. A few words on the 
Character of the Puritans may be added. They were a 
vigorous and hardy people, firm-set in the principles of honesty 
and virtue. They were sober, industrious, frugal; resolute, 
zealous, and steadfast. They esteemed truth more than riches. 
Loving home and native land, they left both for the sake of 
freedom ; and finding freedom, they cherished it with the de- 
votion of martyrs. Despised and hated, they rose above their 
revilers. In the school of evil fortune they gained the discipline 
of patience. They were the children of adversity and the fathers 
of renown. 

30. The gaze of the Puritan was turned ever to posterity. 
He believed in the future. For his children he toiled and 
sacrificed. The system of free schools is the monument of his 
love. The printing-press is his memorial. Almshouses and 
asylums are the tokens of his care for the unfortunate. He 
was the earliest champion of civil rights, and the builder of 
the Union. 

31. In matters of religion, the fathers of New England were 
sometimes intolerant and superstitious. Their religious faith 
was gloomy. Human life was deemed a sad, a miserable 
journey. To be mistaken was to sin. To fail in trifling cere- 
monies was reckoned a crime. In the shadow of such belief 
the people became austere and melancholy. They set up a 
cold and severe form of worship. Dissenters themselves, they 
could not tolerate the dissent of others. To punish error seemed 
to the Pilgrims right and necessary. But Puritanism con- 
tained within itself the power to correct its own abuses. The 
evils of the system may well be forgotten in the glory of its 
achievements. Without the Puritans, America would have been 
a delusion and liberty only a name. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

New York. — Settlement and Administration of 
Stuyvesant. 




New Amsterdam. 

'"T^HE settlement of New Amsterdam resulted from the 
JL voyages of the brave Sir Henry Hudson. For ten years 
after its founding, the colony was governed by the directors of 
the Dutch East India Company. In 1621 the Dutch West 
India Company was organized, and Manhattan Island, with 
its cluster of huts, passed at once under the control of the new 
corporation. 

2. In April, 1623, the ship New Nether- 
land, with thirty families on board, arrived 
Settlements. ' J . 

at New Amsterdam. The colonists, called 

Walloons, were Dutch Protestant refugees. Cornelius May 
was the leader of the company. Most of the new immigrants 
settled with their friends on Manhattan; but the captain, with 
a party of fifty, made explorations as far as Delaware Bay. 

3. In May the island, containing more than twenty thousand 
acres, was purchased from the natives for twenty-four dollars. 
A block-house was built and surrounded with a palisade. New 
Amsterdam was already a town of thirty houses. The Dutch 
of New Amsterdam and the Pilgrims of New Plymouth were 
early and fast friends. 
(94) 



NEW YORK. 



95 



4. In 1628 the population of Manhattan Patroons 
numbered two hundred and seventy. The 

settlers engaged in the fur- trade. In 1629 the West India 
Company framed a Charter of Privileges, under which 
a class of proprietors, called patroons, were authorized to col- 
onize the country. The conditions were that each patroon 
should purchase his lands of the Indians ; and that he should 
establish a colony of not less than fifty persons. Five estates 
were immediately laid out. Three of them were on the 
Hudson; the fourth, on Staten Island; and the fifth, in the 
southern half of Delaware. 

5. In April of 1633 Wouter van Twiller became Governor. 
Three months previously the Dutch erected a block-house at 
Hartford. In October an armed vessel from Plymouth sailed 
up the Connecticut, and defied the Dutch commander. The 
English proceeded up stream to the mouth of the Farming- 
ton, where they built Fort Windsor. Two years later, by the 
building of Saybrook, at the mouth of the Connecticut, they 
obtained control of the river above and below the Dutch fort. 

6. In 1 6 2 6 Gustavus Adolphus, the Protestant king of Sweden, 
formed the design of establishing settlements in America. But 
before his plans could be carried into effect, he was killed in 
battle. In 1632, the Swedish minister took up the work which 
his master had left unfinished ; and, after four years, the enter- 
prise was brought to a successful issue. 

7. Late in 1637 a company of Swedes 

and Finns left the harbor of Stockholm, „ Ne , w 

, . , _ „ _ , . ' . Sweden, 

and m the following February arrived m 

Delaware Bay. The name of New Sweden was given to the 
territory. On the left bank of a small tributary of the Brandy- 
wine, a spot was chosen for the settlement. The immigrants 
soon provided themselves with houses. The creek and the 
fort were both named Christiana, in honor of the maiden queen 
of Sweden. In a short time the banks of the bay and river 
were dotted with pleasant hamlets. 



9 6 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



War with 
the Indians. 



8. The authorities of New Amsterdam were jealous of the 
Swedish colony. Sir William Kieft, who had succeeded Van 
T wilier, warned the settlers of their intrusion on Dutch terri- 
tory. But the Swedes went on enlarging their borders. 

9. In 1640 New Netherland became involved in a war with 
the Indians. New Amsterdam was soon put in a state of de- 
fense, and a company of militia was sent against the savages. 
On both sides the war degenerated into treachery and murder. 
Through the mediation of Roger Williams a truce was obtained, 
but was immediately broken. 

10. Soon a party of Mohawks came down 
the river to enforce their supremacy over the 
Algonquins in the vicinity of New Amster- 
dam. The latter begged assistance of the Dutch. Kieft now 
saw an opportunity for wholesale destruction. A company of 
soldiers set out from Manhattan, and discovered the camp 

of the Algonquins. The 
place was surrounded by 
night, and nearly a hundred 
of the poor wretches were 
killed by those to whom 
they had appealed for help. 
When it was known among 
the tribes that the Dutch, 
and not the Mohawks, were 
the authors of this outrage, 
the war was renewed with 
fury. 

11. In 1643 Captain John 
Underhill, of Massachusetts, 
was appointed to command 
the Dutch forces. He first 
invaded New Jersey, and brought the Delawares into subjec- 
tion. A decisive battle was fought on Long Island; and at 
Greenwich, in western Connecticut, the power of the Indians 




Peter Stuyvesant. 



NEW YORK. 



97 



was finally broken. On the 30th of August, 1645, a treaty was 
concluded at Fort Amsterdam. 

12. In 1647 the West India Company revoked Governor 
Kieft's commission, and appointed Peter Stuyvesant to suc- 
ceed him. Kieft embarked for Europe, but perished during 
the voyage. Peter Stuyvesant entered upon 

his duties on the nth of May, 1647, and con- stuyvesant 
tinued in office for seventeen years. His first 
care was to conciliate the Indians. So intimate and cordial 
became the relations between the natives and the Dutch, that 
they were suspected of making common cause against the 
English. Massachusetts was alarmed lest such an alliance 
should be formed. But the policy of Stuyvesant was based on 
nobler principles. 

13. Until now the West India Company had exclusive 
control of the commerce of New Netherland. In 1648 this 
monopoly was abolished, and regular export duties were sub- 
stituted. The benefit of the change was soon apparent in the 
improvement of the Dutch province. 

14. In a letter written to Stuyvesant by the secretary of the 
company, the prediction was made that the commerce of New 
Amsterdam would cover every ocean, and the ships of all 
nations crowd into her harbor. But for many years the growth 
of the city was slow. The better parts of Manhattan Island 
were still divided among the farmers. Central Park was a 
forest of oaks and chestnuts. 

15. In 1650 the boundary was fixed be- 
tween New England and New Netherland. w B °™ d ^ ry ,° f , 

New Netherland. 

The line extended across Long Island north 

and south, passing through Oyster Bay, and thence to Green- 
wich, on the other side of the Sound. From this point north- 
ward the dividing line was nearly identical with the present 
boundary of Connecticut on the west. This treaty was ratified 
by the colonies, by the West India Company, and by the 
States- General of Holland. 
7.— U. S. Hist. 



9 8 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



1 6. Stuyvesant now determined to subdue the colony of 
New Sweden. In 1651 an armament left New Amsterdam 
for the Delaware, and made an unsuccessful expedition. In 

September of 1655 the old governor again 

Conquest of sailed against New Sweden. Before the 2qth 
New Sweden. 

of the month every fort belonging to the Swedes 

had been forced to surrender. Honorable terms were granted 

to all, and in a few days the authority of New Netherland was 

established. The little State of New Sweden had ceased to exist. 

17. While Stuyvesant was absent on his expedition against 
the Swedes, the Algonquins rose in rebellion. In a fleet of 
sixty-four canoes, they appeared before New Amsterdam, yell- 
ing and discharging arrows, then they went on shore and began 
to burn and murder. The return of the Dutch from Delaware 
induced the chiefs to sue for peace, which Stuyvesant granted 
on better terms than the Indians deserved. 

18. In 1663 the town of Kingston was attacked and de- 
stroyed by the Indians. Sixty-five of the inhabitants were 
tomahawked or carried into captivity. To punish this outrage 
a strong force was sent from New Amsterdam. The Indians 
fled to the woods; but the Dutch soldiers pursued them to 
their villages, burned their wigwams, and killed every warrior 
who could be overtaken. In May of 1664 a treaty of peace 
was concluded. 

19. Governor Stuyvesant had great difficulty in defending 
his province against the claims of other nations. Discord at 
home added to his embarrassments. For many years the 
Dutch had witnessed the growth and prosperity of the Eng- 
lish colonies. Boston had outgrown New Amsterdam. The 
schools of Massachusetts and Connecticut flourished ; the 
academy on Manhattan, after a sickly career of two years, was 
discontinued. In New Netherland heavy taxes were levied 
for the support of the poor; New England had no poor. The 
Dutch attributed their own want of thrift to the mismanagement 
of the West India Company. 



NEW YORK. 



99 



20. On the 1 2th of March, 1664, the 

'j 

Conquest. 



duke of York received from Charles II. a 



patent for the whole country between the 
Connecticut and the Delaware. The duke made haste to secure 
his territory. An English squadron was immediately sent to 
America. On the 28th of August the fleet anchored before 
New Amsterdam. Governor Stuyvesant convened the Dutch 
council, and exhorted them to rouse to action and fight. Some 
one replied that the West India Company was not worth fight- 
ing for. The brave old man was forced to sign the capitula- 
tion; and on the 8th of September, 1664, New Netherland 
ceased to exist. 

21. The English flag was hoisted over the fort and town, 
and the name of New York was substituted for New Amster- 
dam. The remaining Swedish and Dutch settlements soon 
capitulated. The supremacy of Great Britain in America was 
finally established. From Maine to Georgia, every mile of the 
American coast was under the flag of England. 



CHAPTER XV. 



New York Under the English. 



English 
Governors. 



THE Dutch had surrendered them- 
selves to the English government in 
the hope of obtaining civil liberty. But 
it was a poor sort of liberty that any province was likely to 
receive from Charles II. The promised rights of the people 
were evaded and withheld. The old titles by which the Dutch 
farmers held their lands were annulled. The people were 
obliged to accept new deeds from the English governor, and 
to pay him therefor large sums of money. 

2. In 1667 Nicolls, the first English governor of New York, 
was superseded by the tyrannical Lord Lovelace. The people 
became dissatisfied and gloomy. The discontent was univer- 
sal. Several towns resisted the tax-gatherers and passed reso- 
lutions denouncing the government. The only attention which 
Lovelace and his council paid to these resolutions was to order 
them to be burnt before the town-house of New York. When 
the Swedes, a quiet people, resisted the governor's exactions, 
he wrote to his deputy : "If there is any more murmuring 
against the taxes, make them so heavy that the people can do 
nothing but think how to pay them." 

3. In 1672 Charles II. was induced by the king of France 
to begin a war with Holland. The struggle extended to the 
colonies, and New York was for a short time revolutionized. 
But the conquest was only a brief military occupation of the 
country. The civil authority of the Dutch was never reestab- 
lished. In 1674 Charles II. was obliged to conclude a treaty 
of peace. All conquests made during the war were restored. 
New York reverted to the English government, and the rights 

(100) 



NEW YORK UNDER THE ENGLISH. IOI 




Dutch Costumes and Architecture. 



of the duke of York were again recognized in the province. 
Sir Edmund Andros was now appointed governor. On the last 
day of October the Dutch forces were finally withdrawn, and 
Andros assumed control of the government. 

4. It was a sad sort of government for the people. All the 
abuses of Lovelace's administration were revived. Taxes were 
levied without authority of law, and the protests of the people 
were treated with scorn. A popular legislative assembly was 
demanded, but the duke of York wrote to Andros that popular 
assemblies were dangerous to the government, and that he did 
not see any use for them. 

5. In July of 1675 Andros made an unsuccessful effort to 
extend his authority over Connecticut, and later an equally 
ineffectual attempt to gain control of New Jersey. The repre- 
sentatives of the people at this latter place declared themselves 



102 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



to be under the protection of the Great Charter, which not even 
the duke of York could alter or annul. In August of 1682 the 
" Territories " beyond the Delaware were granted by the Duke 
of York to William Penn. This little district, first settled by 
the Swedes, afterwards conquered by the Dutch, then trans- 
ferred to England, was now finally separated from New York 
and joined to the new province of Pennsylvania. 

6. For thirty years the people had been 
Popular Assembly , r , T , » -1 

Granted clamoring tor a general assembly. At last 

the duke of York yielded to the demand. 

Then, for the first time, the people of the province were 

permitted to choose their own rulers and to frame their 

own laws. The new assembly made haste to declare the 

people to be a part of the government. All freeholders were 

granted the right of suffrage; trial by jury was established; 

taxes should not be levied except by the assembly; soldiers 

should not be quartered on the people; martial law should 

not exist ; no person should be persecuted on account of his 

religion. 

7. In July of 1684 the governors of New York and Virginia 
were met by the chiefs of the Iroquois at Albany, and the terms 
of a lasting peace were settled. In 1685 the duke of York 
became king of England. It was soon found that even a mon- 
arch could violate his pledges. King James became the enemy 
of the government which had been established in his American 
province. The legislature of New York was dismissed. An 
odious tax was levied. Printing-presses were forbidden; and 
the old abuses were revived. 

8. When the news of the accession of William of Orange 
reached New York there was great rejoicing. The people 

rose in rebellion against deputy-governor 
Xi6isler's • 
_ .. Nicholson, who was dad to escape to Eng- 
Insurrection. ' to . 

land. The leader of the insurrection was 

Captain Jacob Leisler. He was appointed commandant of New 
York, and afterwards provisional governor. The councilors, 



NEW YORK UNDER THE ENGLISH. 



who were friends of the deposed Nicholson, left the city and 
went to Albany. Here the party opposed to Leisler organized 
a second provisional government. Both factions began to rule 
in the name of William and Mary, the new sovereigns of 
England. Such was the condition of affairs at the beginning 
of King William's War. In the spring of 1690, the authority 
of Leisler as governor of New York was recognized throughout 
the province. 

9. In March, 1691, Colonel Sloughter arrived, with ap- 
pointment as governor; and Leisler, on the same day, tendered 
his submission. He wrote a letter to Sloughter, expressing a 
desire to surrender the post to the governor. But Sloughter 
preferred to treat him as a traitor, and had him seized and sent 
to prison. 

10. As soon as the government was organized the prisoner 
was brought to trial. It was decided that he had been a 
usurper. Sentence of death was passed on him, but Sloughter 
hesitated to put the sentence into execution. In this state of 
affairs the governor was invited to a banquet by the royal 
councilors; and when heated with drink, the death-warrant 
was thrust before him for his signature. He succeeded in sign- 
ing his name to the parchment ; and before his drunken revel 
had passed away, his victim had met his fate. On the 16th of 
May Leisler was taken from prison and hanged. 

11. In 1696 New York was invaded by 

the French. But they were soon driven 

J Invasion. 

back by the English and Iroquois. Before 
a second invasion could be undertaken, King William's War 
was ended. In 1697 the Irish earl of Bellomont became gov- 
ernor. His administration was the happiest in the history 
of the colony. Massachusetts and New Hampshire were 
under his jurisdiction, but Connecticut and Rhode Island 
remained independent. 

12. To Bellomont's administration belongs the story of Cap- 
tain William Kidd, the pirate. A vessel was fitted out by a 



104 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



company of distinguished Englishmen to protect the commerce 
of Great Britain and to punish piracy. Governor Bellomont 
was one of the proprietors, and Kidd received a commission as 
captain. The ship sailed from England before Bellomont's 
departure for New York. Soon the news came that Kidd 
himself had turned pirate and become the terror of the seas. 
For two years he continued his career, then appeared publicly 
in the streets of Boston, w T as seized, sent to England, tried, 
convicted, and hanged. 

13. In May of 1702 Bellomont was super- 
New York seded by Lord Cornbury. A month pre- 
and New Jersey J J \ 

United viously the proprietors of New Jersey had 

surrendered their province to the English 
Crown. All obstacles being thus removed, the two colonies 
were formally united in one government under Cornbury. For 
thirty-six years the two provinces continued under the jurisdic- 
tion of a single governor. 

14. In 1732, New York was troubled with a dispute about 
the freedom of the press. The liberal party of the province 
held that a public journal might criticise the acts of the admin- 
istration. The aristocratic party opposed such liberty as dan- 
gerous to good government. Zenger, an editor who published 
criticisms on the governor, was seized and put in prison. Great 
excitement ensued. The people praised their champion. An- 
drew Hamilton, a lawyer of Philadelphia, went to New York 
to defend Zenger, who was brought to trial in July of 1735. 
The cause was heard, and the jury brought in a verdict of 
acquittal. The aldermen of New York, in order to testify their 
appreciation of Hamilton's services, made him a present of an ele- 
gant gold box, and the people w T ere enthusiastic over their victory. 

15. In the year 1741 occurred what is 
Th pbt gr0 known as the Negro Plot. Negroes con- 
stituted a large fraction of the people. Sev- 
eral fires occurred, and the slaves were suspected of having 
kindled them ; now they became feared and hated. A rumor 



NEW YORK UNDER THE ENGLISH. I05 

was started that the negroes had made a plot to burn the city, 
and set up one of their own number as governor. The reward 
of freedom was offered to any slave who would reveal the plot. 
Many witnesses rushed forward; the jails were filled with the 
accused ; and more than thirty of the miserable creatures, with 
hardly the form of a trial, were convicted and then hanged or 
burned to death. Others were transported and sold as slaves 
in foreign lands. As soon as the excitement had subsided, it 
came to be doubted whether the whole affair had not been the 
result of terror and fanaticism. The verdict of after times has 
been that there was no plot at alL 

16. Such is the history of the little colony planted on Man- 
hattan Island. A hundred and thirty years had passed since 
the first feeble settlements were made ; the valley of the Hud- 
son was filled with farms and villages. The Walloons of 
Flanders and the Puritans of New England had blended into 
one people. Discord and contention had only resulted in 
colonial liberty. There were other struggles through which 
the sons of New York had to pass before they gained their 
freedom. But the oldest and greatest of the Middle Colonies 
had entered upon a glorious career, and the foundations of an 
Empire State were laid. 



CHAPTER XVI. 
Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire. 



Plymouth to the earl of Warwick; and in March, 1631, 
the claim was transferred by him to Lord Say-and-Seal, 
Lord Brooke, and John Hampden. Before a colony could be 
planted, the Dutch of New Netherland reached the Connecti- 
cut and built a fort at Hartford. The people of Plymouth 
immediately sent out a force to counteract this movement of 
their rivals, for the territorial claim of the Puritans extended 
over Connecticut and over New Netherland itself. 



2. In October of 1635 a colony of sixty persons from 
Boston settled at Hartford, Windsor, and Wethersfield. Earlier 

(106) 



Rival Claims 
to Connecticut. 





Early Settlements in Connecticut. 



CONNECTICUT, RHODE ISLAND, AND NEW HAMPSHIRE. 107 



in the same year the younger Winthrop, son of the governor 
of Massachusetts, arrived in New England. Under his direc- 
tion a fort was built at the mouth of the Connecticut. Such 
was the founding of Saybrook, named in honor of Lord Say- 
and-Seal and Lord Brooke. 

3. To the early annals of Connecticut belongs the sad story 
of the Pequod War. The country west of the Thames was 
more thickly peopled with savages than any other portion of 
New England. The warlike Pequods were able to muster 
seven hundred warriors. The whole force of the English did 
not amount to two hundred men. But the superior numbers 
of the savages were more than balanced by the courage and 
weapons of the English. In the year 1633 the crew of a 
trading-vessel were murdered on the banks of the Connecticut. 
An Indian embassy went to Boston to apologize ; a treaty 
was made, and the Pequods acknowledged the king of Eng- 
land. But soon they began to violate the treaty. Outrages 
were committed, and war began in earnest. 

4. In this state of affairs the Pequods 
attempted to induce the Narragansetts and ^war 110 * 1 
the Mohegans to join in a war against 

the English. But Roger Williams, now in Rhode Island, used 
his endeavors to thwart the alliance. Embarking alone in a 
canoe, he crossed the bay to the house of Canonicus, king of 
the Narragansetts. There he found the ambassadors of the 
Pequods. For three days and nights, at the peril of his life, 
he pleaded with Canonicus to reject the proposals of the 
hostile tribe. At last his efforts were successful, and the 
Narragansetts voted to remain at peace. The Mohegans also 
rejected the proposed alliance. In the mean time, repeated acts 
of violence had aroused the colony. On the 1st of May the 
towns of Connecticut declared war. Sixty volunteers were put 
under command of Captain John Mason, of Hartford. Seventy 
Mohegans joined the expedition; and Sir Henry Vane sent 
Captain Underbill with twenty soldiers from Boston. 



io8 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



5. The descent from Hartford to Saybrook occupied one 
day. On the 20th of the month the expedition passed the 
mouth of the Thames; here was the principal seat of the 
Pequod nation. When the savages saw the squadron go by 
they set up shouts of exultation, and persuaded themselves 
that the English were afraid to hazard battle. The fleet pro- 
ceeded quietly into Narragansett Bay. Here the troops landed 
and began their march into the country of the Pequods. 

6. On the 25th of May the troops came within hearing of 
the Pequod fort. The warriors spent the night in uproar and 
jutfilee. At two o'clock in the morning the English soldiers 
rose from their places of concealment and rushed forward to 
the fort. A dog ran howling among the wigwams, and the 
warriors sprang to arms. The English leaped over the puny 
palisades and began the w r ork of death. " Burn them ! " 
shouted Mason, seizing a flaming mat, and running among 
the cabins; and in a few minutes the wigwams were a sheet 
of flame. The English and Mohegans hastily withdrew. 

7. The savages ran round and round 
Destruction V1 , , . Tr 

„ x . _ , like wild beasts m a burning circus. It 
of the Pequods. & 

one of the wretched creatures burst through 

the flames it was only to meet certain death. The destruction 

was complete. Only seven warriors escaped ; seven others 

were made prisoners. Six hundred men, women, and children 

perished, nearly all being burned to death. The remnants of 

the Pequods' were pursued into the swamps west of Saybrook. 

Every wigwam was burned and every field laid waste. Two 

hundred fugitives were hunted to death or captivity. The 

prisoners were distributed as servants among the Narragansetts, 

or sold as slaves. 

8. In the pursuit of the Pequods, the 
Founded English became acquainted with the coast 

west of the mouth of the Connecticut. 
Here some men of Boston tarried over winter, built cabins, and 
founded New Haven. In June of 1639 the men of New 



CONNECTICUT, RHODE ISLAND, AND NEW HAMPSHIRE. 109 



Haven held a convention in a bam, and adopted the Bible for 
a constitution. The government was called the House of 
Wisdom, and none but church members were admitted to 
citizenship. 

9. In 1643 Connecticut became a member of the Union of 
New England. New Haven was also admitted; and in the 
next year Saybrook was annexed to Connecticut. In 1650 
Governor Stuyvesant met the commissioners of the province 
at Hartford, and established the western boundary. 

10. On the restoration of monarchy in England, Connecti- 
cut recognized King Charles as rightful sovereign. The 
younger Winthrop was sent as ambassador to London to pro- 
cure a royal patent for the colony. He bore with him a 
charter which had been prepared by the authorities of Hart- 
ford. Lord Say-and-Seal and the earl of Manchester lent 

their influence to induce the king to sign 

^ 1 j -i • . 1 • 1 Winthrop secures 

it. Winthrop showed him a ring which 

Charles I. had given to Winthrop's grand- 
father; and the token so moved the monarch's feelings that in 
a careless moment he signed the colonial charter — the most 
liberal and ample ever granted by an English king. 

11. When Winthrop returned to Connecticut he was chosen 
governor of the colony, and continued in office for fourteen 
years. The civil institutions of the province were the best in 
New England. Peace reigned. During King Philip's War, 
Connecticut was saved from invasion. Not a hamlet was 
burned, not a life lost within her borders. 

12. In October of 1687 Andros, now governor of all New 
England, made his famous visit to Hartford. On the day of 
his arrival he invaded the assembly while in session, seized the 
book of minutes, and wrote Finis at the bottom of the page. 
He then demanded the surrender of the colonial charter. Gov- 
ernor Treat pleaded earnestly for the preservation of the doc- 
ument. Andros was inexorable. The shades of evening fell. 
How Joseph Wadsworth carried away and concealed the pre- 



no 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



cious parchment has been told in the history of Massachusetts. 
When the government of Andros was overthrown, Connecti- 
cut, with the other New England colonies, regained her liberty. 

13. "I give these books for the found- 

Ycil© Colics'© 

Founded °^ a C0 ^ e S e * n tn ^ s c °l° n y-' ? Such were 

the words of ten ministers who, in 1700, 
assembled at Branford, New Haven. Each of them, as 
he uttered the words, deposited a few volumes on the table 
where they were sitting ; such was the founding of Yale Col- 
lege. In 1702 the school was opened at Saybrook, where it 
continued for fifteen years, and was then removed to New 
Haven. One of the most liberal patrons of the college was 
Elihu Yale, from whom the institution took its name. Com- 
mon schools already existed in almost every village of Con- 
necticut. 

14. The half century preceding the French and Indian war 
was a time of prosperity in the western parts of New England. 
Connecticut was especially favored. Peace reigned through- 
out her borders. The farmer reaped his fields in cheerfulness 
and hope. The mechanic made glad his dusty shop with anec- 
dote and song. The merchant feared no tariff, the villager no 
taxes. Want was unknown, and pauperism unheard of. With 
fewer dark pages in her history, Connecticut had all the lofty 
purposes and noble virtues of Massachusetts. 

15. In June of 1636 the exiled Roger Williams left the 
country of the Wampanoags, and passed down the Seekonk to 
Narragansett River. With his five companions he landed on 
the western bank, purchased the soil of the Narragansetts, and 
laid the foundations of Providence. Other exiles joined the 
company. New farms were laid out and new houses built. 
Here, at last, was found at Providence Plantation a refuge 
for all the persecuted. 

16. The leader of the new colony was a native of Wales; 
born in 1606 ; liberally educated at Cambridge. He had been 
the friend of Milton, and was a great hater of ceremonies. He 



CONNECTICUT, RHODE ISLAND, AND NEW HAMPSHIRE. Ill 




A New England Kitchen in the Olden Time. 

had been exiled to Massachusetts, and was 

now exiled by Massachusetts. He brought Providence 
J & Plantation. 

to the banks of the Narragansett the great 

doctrines of religious liberty and the equal rights of men. 

17. The beginning of civil government in Rhode Island 
was equally simple. Williams was the natural ruler of the 
little province, but he reserved for himself no wealth, no privi- 
lege. The lands, purchased from Canonicus, were freely dis- 
tributed among the colonists. Only two small fields were kept 
by the founder for himself. All the powers of the government 
were intrusted to the people. A simple agreement was made 
by the settlers that in matters not affecting the conscience they 
would yield obedience to such rules as the majority might 
make for the public good. In questions of religion the con- 
science should be to every man a guide. 



112 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 




1 8. The new government stood the test of experience. 
Providence Plantation had peace and quiet. It was found 
that all religious sects could live together in harmony. Mian- 
tonomah, chief of the Narragansetts, loved Roger Williams 
as a brother. It was his friendship that enabled Williams 
, . m to notify Massachusetts of the 

: Pequod conspiracy, and to de- 
~ : ^WPW$§M\^-^- " ^ eat P^ ans °f the hostile 
' : ^^BPBr^^^ na ^ on * g 00 ^ deed in- 

duced his friends at Salem to 
make an effort to recall him 
from banishment ; but his ene- 
mies prevented his return. 

19. In 1639 a settlement 
was made at Portsmouth, in 
the northern part of the is- 
land, and at the same time a 
party of colonists removed to 
the south-western part of the island, and laid the founda- 
tions of Newport. In sight of this last-named settlement 
stood the old stone tower, a monument built by the Norse- 
men. In March of 1641 a public meeting was convened; 
the citizens came together on terms of equality, and the 
task of framing a constitution was undertaken. In three 
days the instrument was completed. The government was 
declared to be a " Democracie." The supreme authority was 
lodged with the freemen of the island. The 
vote of the majority should always rule. 
No one should be distressed on account 
of religious doctrine. The little republic was named the 
Plantation of Rhode Island. 

20. In 1643 Providence and Rhode Island were refused 
admission into the Union of New England. Soon afterward 
Roger Williams was sent to London to procure a charter for 
the new colonies. On the 14th of March in the following 



Stone Tower at Newport. 



Plantation of 
Rhode Island. 



CONNECTICUT, RHODE ISLAND, AND NEW HAMPSHIRE. 113 



year the patent was granted, and Rhode Island became an 
independent commonwealth. With but few and brief inter- 
ruptions it enjoyed peace and prosperity. The principles of 
the illustrious founder became the principles of the common- 
wealth. The renown of Rhode Island has not been in vast- 
ness of territory, in mighty cities, or in victorious armies, but 
in devotion to truth, justice, and freedom. 
. 21. In 1622 the territory between the Merrimac and the Ken- 
nebec was granted by the council of Plymouth to Sir Ferdinand 
Gorges and John Mason. The proprietors made haste to 
secure their new domain by actual settlements. In the spring 
of 1623 two small companies of colonists were sent out by 
Mason and Gorges to people their province. One party of 
immigrants landed at Little Harbor, near Portsmouth, and 
began to build a village. The other company proceeded 
up stream and laid the foundations of Dover. With the ex- 
ception of Plymouth and Weymouth, Portsmouth and Dover 
are the oldest towns in New England. But the progress of 
the settlements was slow; for many years 

the two villages were only fishing; stations. w Province of 

& j & New Hampshire. 

In 1629 the name of New Hampshire 

was given to the province. Very soon Massachusetts began 

to urge her rights to the district north of the Merrimac. 

22. On the 14th of April, 1642, New Hampshire was united 
with Massachusetts. The law restricting the rights of citizen- 
ship to church members was not extended over the new 
province, for the people of Portsmouth and Dover belonged 
to the Church of England. New Hampshire was the only 
colony east of the Hudson not originally founded by the Puri- 
tans. The union continued in force until 1679, when New 
Hampshire was separated from the jurisdiction of Massachu- 
setts, and organized as a distinct royal province. Edward 
Cranfield was chosen governor. 

23. Before his arrival the sawyers and lumbermen of the 
Piscataqua convened a general assembly at Portsmouth. A 

8.— U. S. Hist, 



ii4 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



resolution was passed by the representatives that no act, law, 
or ordinance should be valid unless made by the assembly and 
approved by the people. When the king heard of this resolu- 
tion he declared it to be both wicked and absurd. 

24. Of all the colonies, New Hampshire suffered most from 
the Indian wars. Her settlements were constantly exposed to 
savage invasion. During King Philip's War the suffering along 
the frontier was very great. In the wars of William, Anne, and 
George the province was visited with devastation and ruin. 
But in the intervals of peace the spirits of the people revived, 
and the hardy settlers returned to their wasted farms. Out of 
these conflicts and trials came that sturdy race of pioneers 
who bore such a heroic part in the contests of after years. 



CHAPTER XVII. 



New Jersey and Pennsylvania. 

THE history of New Jersey begins with the founding of 
Elizabethtown, in 1664. As early as 161 8, a trading- 
station had been established at Bergen; but forty years passed 
before permanent dwellings were built in that neighborhood. 

2. The territory of New Jersey was in- 
cluded in the grant made to the duke of 

. New Jersey. 

York. In 1664 that portion of the prov- 
ince lying between the Hudson and the Delaware, extending 
as far north as forty-one degrees and forty minutes, was as- 
signed to Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret. Just after 
the conquest, a company of Puritans received a grant of land 
on Newark Bay. The Indian titles were purchased ; in the 
following October a village was begun and named Elizabeth- 
town. 

3. In August of 1665 Philip Carteret arrived as governor. 
Elizabethtown was made the capital of the colony; Newark 
was founded; flourishing hamlets appeared on the shores of 
the bay as far south as Sandy Hook. In honor of Sir George 
Carteret, who had been governor of the Isle of Jersey, his 
American domain was named New Jersey. In 1668 the 
first assembly convened at Elizabethtown. The representa- 
tives were Puritans, and the laws of New England were re- 
peated in the legislation of the colony. 

4. After the conquest of New York by the Dutch, and the 
restoration of the province to England, the duke of York re- 
ceived from the king a second patent for the country between 
the Connecticut and the Delaware. At the same time he 
confirmed his former grant of New Jersey to Berkeley and 

(115) 



n6 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Carteret. But soon afterwards Sir Edmund Andros was ap- 
pointed royal governor of the whole country. Carteret defended 
his claim against Andros ; but Berkeley sold his interest in 
New Jersey to John Fenwick, to be held in trust for Edward 
Byllinge, who after a time made an assignment of his property 
to Gawen Laurie, Nicholas Lucas, and William Penn. 

5. These men were Quakers. Here, then, 
was an opportunity to establish an asy- 
lum for the persecuted Friends. Penn and 
his associates applied to Sir George Carteret for a division 
of the province. It was accordingly agreed to divide New 
Jersey so that Carteret's district should be separated from that 
of the Quakers. The line of division was drawn from the 
southern point of land on the east side of Little Egg Harbor 
to a point on the Delaware in the latitude of forty-one degrees 

and forty minutes. The 



Division of 
New Jersey. 



territory lying east of this 
line remained to Sir George 
as sole proprietor, and was 
named East Jersey; while 
that portion lying between 
the line and the Delaware 
was called West Jersey, 
and passed under the con- 
trol of Penn. 

6. Early in the follow- 
ing March the Quaker 
proprietors published a 
code of laws called The 
Concessions. The con- 
stitution rivaled the char- 
ter of Connecticut in the 
liberality of its principles. 
The authors of the instrument then addressed the Quakers 
of England, recommending the province and inviting im- 




Middle Colonies. 



NEW JERSEY AND PENNSYLVANIA. 



117 



migration. Before the end of the year a colony of more 
than four hundred Friends found homes in West Jersey. 
An effort was now made by the proprietors of East Jersey 
to secure a deed of release from the duke of York. The 
petition was granted, and the whole territory was freed from 
foreign authority. 

7. In November of 168 1 Jennings, the deputy-governor of 
West Jersey, convened the first general assembly. The Quakers 
now met together to make their own laws. The Concessions 
were reaffirmed. Men of all races and religions were declared 
to be equal. Imprisonment for debt was forbidden. The sale 
of ardent spirits to the Red men was prohibited. Taxes should 

' be voted by the representatives of the people. The lands of 
the Indians should be acquired by purchase. Finally, a crim- 
inal might be pardoned by the person against whom the offense 
was committed. 

8. In 1682 William Penn and eleven 

. 1 -t-\ • j t , - . r Quakers purchase 

other rnends purchased the province of . _ 

r 1 East Jersey. 

East Jersey. The whole of New Jersey 
was now held by the Friends. In 1685 James II. appointed 
Edmund Andros royal governor of the colonies from Maine to 
Delaware. In 1688 the Jerseys were brought under his juris- 
diction. When the news came of the abdication of the English 
monarch, Andros could do nothing but surrender to the indig- 
nant people. 

9. But the condition of New Jersey was deplorable. It was 
almost impossible to tell to whom the territory rightfully be- 
longed. Finally, in April of 1702, all proprietary claims being 
waived in favor of the king, the territory between the Hudson 
and the Delaware became a royal province. 

10. New Jersey was now attached to the government of 
Lord Cornbury of New York. But each province retained its 
own legislative assembly and a distinct organization. This 
method of government continued for thirty-six years, and was 
then ended by the action of the people. In 1728 the repre- 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



sentatives of New Jersey sent a petition to George II., praying 

for a separation of the two colonies. Ten years later the effort 

was renewed and brought to a successful issue. New Jersey 

was made independent, and Lewis Morris 
New Jersey a . . . , r 

_ . _ . received a commission as royal governor 01 
Royal Province. J & 

the province. 

ii. The Quakers were greatly encouraged with the success 
of their colonies in New Jersey. For more than a quarter of 
a century they had been buffeted with persecutions. But im- 
prisonment and exile had not abated their zeal. The benevolent 
spirit of Penn urged him to find for his people an asylum in 
the New World. In June of 1680 he appealed to King Charles 
for the privilege of founding a Quaker commonwealth in 
America. 

„ _ 12. The petition was heard with favor. 

Pennsylvania. r 

On the 5th of March, 1681, a charter was 
granted by Charles II., and William Penn became the pro- 
prietor of Pennsylvania. The vast domain embraced under 
the new patent was bounded on the east by the Delaware,' 
extended north and south over three degrees of latitude, 
and westward through five degrees of longitude. The three 
counties of Delaware were reserved for the duke of York. 
Within a month from the date of his charter, Penn published 
a glowing account of his new country, promising freedom of 
conscience, and inviting emigration. During the summer three 
shiploads of Quakers left England for the land of promise. 

13. During the winter of 1681-82, Penn drew up a consti- 
tution for his people. In the mean time, the duke of York had 
surrendered his claim to the three counties on the Delaware. 
The whole country on the west bank of the river, from Cape 
Henlopen to the forty-third degree of latitude, was now trans- 
ferred to Penn, who, with a large company of emigrants, landed 
at New Castle on the 27th of October, 1682. 

14. William Penn was born on the 14th of October, 1644. 
He was the oldest son of Sir William Penn of the British navy. 



NEW JERSEY AND PENNSYLVANIA. 



II 9 



William 
Penn. 



At the age of twelve he was sent to the University of Oxford, 
where he distinguished himself as a student until he was ex- 
pelled on account of his religion. After- 
wards he traveled on the Continent, and 
then became a student of law at London. 
For a while he was a soldier, and was then converted to the 
Quaker faith. His father drove him out of doors, but he was 
not to be turned from his 
course. He proclaimed the 
doctrines of the Friends; 
was arrested and imprisoned, 
first in the Tower of Lon- 
don, and afterward at New- 
gate. Despairing of tolera- 
tion in England, he cast his 
gaze across the Atlantic. 
West Jersey was purchased ; 
Pennsylvania was granted 
by King Charles; and now 
Penn himself arrived in 
America to found a govern- 
ment on the basis of peace. 

15. The Quaker gover- 
nor delivered an affectionate address to the crowd of Swedes, 
Dutch, and English who came to greet him. His pledges 
of #a liberal government were renewed, and the people 
were exhorted to sobriety and honesty. 

Friendly relations were established between m Treaty of 

: Shackamaxon. 
the Friends and Red men. A great con- 
ference, appointed with the sachems of the neighboring 
tribes, was held on the banks of the Delaware. Penn de- 
clared his brotherly affection for the Indians. Standing before 
them, clad in the simple garb of the Quakers, he said : — 
" My Friends : We have met on the broad pathway of good 
faith. We are all one flesh and blood. Being brethren, no 




William Penn. 



120 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



advantage shall be taken on either side. When disputes arise, 
we will settle them in council. Between us there shall be 
nothing but openness and love." The chiefs replied : " While 
the rivers run and the sun shines we will live in peace with the 
children of William Penn." And the treaty was sacredly kept. 
The Quaker hat and coat proved to be a better defense than 
coat-of-mail and musket. 

1 6. In February of 1683 the native chestnuts, walnuts and 
elms were blazed to indicate the lines of the streets, and Phil- 
adelphia was founded. Within a month a general assembly 
was in session at the new capital. A democratic form of gov- 
ernment was adopted. The growth of Philadelphia was aston- 
ishing. In 1683 there were only three or four houses. In 
1685 the city contained six hundred houses; the schoolmaster 
had come, and the printing-press had begun its work. In an- 
other year Philadelphia had outgrown New York. In August 
of 1684 Penn took leave of his colony and sailed for England. 

17. Nothing occurred to disturb the peace 

Secession of ^ Pennsylvania until the secession of Dela- 
Delaware. . J 

ware in 1691. The three lower counties, 

which had been united on terms of equality with the six 

counties of Pennsylvania, became dissatisfied with some acts 

of the assembly and insisted on a separation. The proprietor 

gave consent; Delaware withdrew from the union, and received 

a separate deputy-governor. 

18. In December of 1699 Penn visited his American com- 
monwealth, and drew up another constitution, more liberal than 
the first. But Delaware would not accept the new form of 
government. In 1702 the assemblies of the two provinces sat 
apart ; and in the following year Delaware and Pennsylvania 
were finally separated. 

19. In July of 1 7 18 the founder of Pennsylvania sank to 
rest. His estates, vast and valuable, were bequeathed to his 
three sons, John, Thomas, and Richard. By them, or their 
deputies, Pennsylvania was governed until the American Revo- 



NEW JERSEY AND PENNSYLVANIA. 



121 



lution. In the year 1779 the claims of the Penn family were 
purchased by the legislature of Pennsylvania for a hundred 
and thirty thousand pounds. 

20. The colonial history of the State founded by Penn is one 
of special interest and pleasure. It is a narrative of the vic- 
tories of peace, and of the triumph of peaceful principles over 
violence and wrong. It is doubtful whether the history of any 
other colony in the world is touched with so many traits of inno- 
cence and truth. " I will found a free colony for all mankind," 
were the words of William Penn. How well his work was done 
shall be told when the bells of his capital city shall ring out the 
glad notes of American Independence. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



Maryland and North Carolina. 
APTAIN JOHN SMITH was the first white man to ex- 



V^y plore the Chesapeake. In 1621 William Clayborne, an 
English surveyor, was sent out by the London Company to 
make a map of the country around the bay. By the second 
charter of Virginia that province included all of the present 
State of Maryland. To explore and occupy the country was 
an enterprise of the highest importance to the Virginians. In 
May of 1 63 1 Clayborne was authorized to survey the country 
as far north as the forty-first degree of latitude, and to establish 
a trade with the Indians. In the spring of 1632 he began his 
important work. 



Grace. The Chesapeake was explored and a trade opened 
with the natives. The limits of Virginia were about to be ex- 
tended to the borders of New Netherland. But, in the mean 
time, religious persecutions were preparing the way for the 
foundation of a new State in the wilderness. Sir George Cal- 
vert, a Catholic nobleman of Yorkshire, better known by 
his title of Lord Baltimore, was destined to become the 
founder. 

3. In 1629 he made a visit to Virginia. The general as- 
sembly offered him citizenship, but required such an oath of 
allegiance as no honest Catholic could take. Lord Baltimore 
thereupon left the narrow-minded legislators; returned to Lon- 
don; drew up a charter for a new State on the Chesapeake, 
and induced King Charles to sign it. 




First Posts 
in Maryland. 



2. The enterprise was attended with suc- 
cess. A trading-post was established on 
Kent Island, and another near Havre de 



(122) 



MARYLAND AND NORTH CAROLINA. 



I23 



4. The provisions of the charter were ample. No prefer- 
ence was given to any particular religion. The lives and 
property of the colonists were carefully guarded. Arbitrary 
taxation was forbidden. The power of making the laws was 
conceded to the freemen of the colony. 

5. Before the patent could receive the 

1 c . . o- /- 1 4. a' a ^ or( ^ Baltimore's 

seal 01 state, Sir George Calvert died. charter 

His title descended to his son Cecil; and 
the charter was issued to him on the 20th of June, 1632. In 
honor of Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles I., the name of 
Maryland was conferred on the new province. In the fall 
of 1633 a colony numbering two hundred persons was col- 
lected. Leonard Calvert, a brother of Cecil, was appointed to 
accompany the colonists to America. 

6. In March of 1634 the immigrants arrived at Old Point 
Comfort. They proceeded up the bay and ascended the Poto- 
mac. Finding a half-deserted 
Indian village at the mouth 
of the St. Mary's, the English 
moved into the vacant huts. 
The rest of the town was pur- 
chased; and the name of 
St. Mary's was given to the 
colony. Friendly relations 
were established with the na- 
tives. The Indian women 
taught the wives of the 
English how to make corn- 
bread, and the warriors in- 
structed the colonists in the 
art of hunting. There was 
neither anxiety nor want in 
the colony. Within six months the settlement had grown 
into greater prosperity than Jamestown had reached in as 
many years. 




Cecil Calvert, Lord Baltimore. 



124 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



♦ 

7. In 1639 a representative government was established in 
Maryland. Hitherto a system of democracy had prevailed; 
each freeman had been allowed a vote in determining the laws. 
When the new delegates came together, a declaration of rights 
was adopted. All the liberal principles of the colonial patent 
were reaffirmed. The rights of citizenship were declared to be 
the same as those of the people of England. 

8. In 1642 Indian hostilities were begun on the Potomac. 
But the settlements of Maryland were compact, and no great 
suffering was occasioned. In 1644 the savages agreed to bury 
the hatchet and to renew the pledges of friendship. 

9. In 1650 the legislature of Maryland was divided into two 
branches. The rights of Lord Baltimore were defined by law. 
An act was passed declaring that no taxes should be levied 
without the consent of the assembly. Such was the condi- 
tion of affairs in the colony of Maryland when the Common- 
wealth was established in England. 

10. In 165 1 parliamentary commission- 
Conflict with » . t 
„ ers came to America to assume control 
Parliament. 

of Maryland. Stone, the deputy of Balti- 
more, was deposed from office; but in the following year he 
was permitted to resume the government. In April of 1653 
he published a proclamation, declaring that the recent inter- 
ference had been a rebellion. Clayborne thereupon collected 
a force in Virginia, drove Stone out of office, and directed the 
government himself. 

11. In 1654 a Protestant assembly was convened at Patux- 
ent. The supremacy of Cromwell was acknowledged, and the 
Catholics were deprived of the protection of the laws. Civil 
war ensued. Governor Stone armed the militia, and seized the 
records of the colony. A battle was fought near Annapolis, 
and the Catholics were defeated, with a loss of fifty men. 
Stone was taken prisoner, but was saved from death by- the 
friendship of some of the insurgents. Three of the Catholics 
were tried and executed. 



MARYLAND AND NORTH CAROLINA. 



12. After the death of Cromwell, Maryland was declared 
independent. On the 12th of March, 1660, the rights of Lord 
Baltimore were set aside, and the whole power of government 
was assumed by the House of Burgesses. On the restoration 
of monarchy the Baltimores w r ere again recognized, and Philip 
Calvert was sent out as governor. From 1675 to 1691 Charles 
Calvert was governor of Maryland. 

13. On the 1st of June, 169 1, the charter of Lord Baltimore 
was taken away and a royal governor appointed. The Epis- 
copal Church was established by law. Religious toleration 
was abolished and the government administered on despotic 
principles. This condition of affairs continued until 1715, when 
Queen Anne restored the heir of Lord Baltimore to the rights 
of his family. Maryland remained under the authority of 
the Calverts until the Revolution. 

14. The first effort to colonize North Caro- 
lina was made by Sir Walter Raleigh. In _ 

J . the Carolinas. 

1630 the country was granted to Sir Robert 

Heath. But, after thirty-three years, the patent was revoked by 

the English king. The name of Carolina had been given to the 

country by John Ribault, in 1562. The first actual settlement 

was made on the Chowan about the year 1651. In 1 661 a 

company of Puritans settled on Oldtown Creek. In 1663 Lord 

Clarendon, and seven other noblemen, received a grant of all the 

country beween the thirty-sixth parallel and the river St. John's. 

15. The work of preparing a frame of government for the 
new province was assigned to Sir Ashley Cooper. The phi- 
losopher John Locke was employed by him and his associates 
to prepare the constitution. From March until July of 1669, 
Locke worked away in drawing up a plan which he called 
The Grand Model. // contained one hundred and twenty 
articles ; and this was but the beginning ! The empire of 
Carolina was divided into districts of four hundred and eighty 
thousand acres each. The offices were divided between two 
grand orders of nobility. 



126 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



1 6. All attempts to establish the new government ended in 
failure. But the settlers had meanwhile learned to govern 
themselves. They grew prosperous by trading in staves and 
furs; and when this traffic was exhausted, they began to 
remove to other settlements. 

17. The people of the colony were greatly oppressed with 
taxes. The trade with New England alone was weighed down 
with an annual duty of twelve thousand dollars. A gloomy 
opposition to the government prevailed; and when, in 1676, 
large numbers of refugees from Virginia arrived in Carolina, the 
discontent was kindled into an insurrection. The people seized 
Governor Miller and his council, and established a new gov- 
ernment of their own. John Culpepper, the leader of the insur- 
gents, was chosen governor. In 1679 Miller and his associates 
escaped from confinement and went to London. Governor 
Culpepper, who followed to defend himself, was seized, indicted 
for treason, tried, and acquitted. After a time new settlers came 
from Virginia and Maryland — Quakers from New England, 
Huguenots from France, and peasants from Switzerland. 

18. The Indians of North Carolina grad- 
Troubles ua Uy wasted away. Some of the nations 
were already extinct. The lands of the 
savages had passed to the whites, sometimes by purchase, 
sometimes by fraud. Of all the tribes of the Carolinas, only 
thq Corees and the Tuscaroras were still formidable. These 
grew jealous and went to war with the whites. 

19. On the night of the 22d of September, 171 1, the savages 
fell upon the scattered settlements and murdered a hundred 
and thirty persons. Civil dissensions prevented the authorities 
from adopting vigorous measures of defence. But Colonel 
Barnwell came from South Carolina with a company of militia 
and friendly Indians ; and the savages were driven into their 
fort. A treaty of peace was made ; but, on their way home- 
ward, Barnwell's men sacked an Indian village, and the war 
was at once renewed, 



MARYLAND AND NORTH CAROLINA. 



127 



20. In the next year, Colonel Moore of South Carolina 
arrived with a regiment of whites and Indians, and the Tusca- 
roras were pursued to their fort, which was carried by assault. 
Eight hundred warriors were taken prisoners. The power of 
the hostile nation was broken ; and the Tuscaroras, abandon- 
ing their hunting-grounds, marched across Virginia, Maryland, 
and Pennsylvania, joined their kinsmen of New York, and 
became the sixth nation of the Iroquois. 

21. In 1729 a separation was effected 

, . .1 , v a i Separation of 

between the two Carolmas, and a royal A - 

1 J the Carolinas. 
governor was appointed over each. In 

spite of many reverses, the northern colony had greatly pros- 
pered. Intellectual development had not been as rapid as the 
growth in numbers and wealth. Little attention had been 
given to questions of religion. There was no minister in the 
province until 1703. Two years later the first church was 
built. The printing-press did not begin its work until 1754. 
But the people were brave and patriotic. They loved their 
country, and called it the Land of Summer. 



CHAPTER XIX. 



South Carolina and Georgia. 



IN January of 1670 the proprietors of Carolina sent out a 
colony under command of Joseph West and William Sayle. 
On the first high land upon the southern bank of the Ashley 
River were laid the foundations of Old Charleston, named in 
honor of Charles II. Sayle had been commissioned as governor 
of the colony, and he at once assumed control. 

2. In 1 67 1 he died, and West entered upon 
the duties of the vacant office. In a few 

of Slaves. 

months Sir John Yeamans, who had been 
governor of the northern province, was commissioned as chief 
magistrate of the southern colony. He brought with him 
to Ashley River a cargo of African slaves. Thus the labor of 
the black man was substituted for the labor of the white man, 
and in less than two years slavery was firmly established. The 
importation of negroes went on so rapidly that soon the ne- 
groes were twice as numerous as the white men. 

3. During the year 1671 the country was rapidly filled with 
people. Fertile lands were abundant. Wars and pestilence 
had almost destroyed the native tribes. The proprietors of 
Carolina sent several ships to New York, loaded them with 
the discontented people of that province, and brought them to 
Charleston. Charles II. collected a company of Protestant 
refugees in Europe, and sent them to Carolina to introduce the 
silk-worm and to cultivate the grape. 

4. In 1680 the present city of Charleston was founded. 
Thirty dwellings were erected during the first summer. The 
village immediately became the capital of the colony. The 
unhealthy climate retarded the progress of the new town, but 
the people were full of life and enterprise. 

(138) 



SOUTH CAROLINA AND GEORGIA. 



129 



5. England, France, Scotland, and Ire- 
land sent colonies to South Carolina. Es- 

Huguenots. 

pecially did the French Huguenots come 
in great numbers, for they were now persecuted in their own 
country. They were met by the proprietors with a promise 
of citizenship ; but the promise was not well kept, for the 
general assembly claimed the right of fixing the conditions of 
naturalization. Not until 1697 were all discriminations against 
the French immigrants removed. 

6. In April of 1693 the proprietors of Carolina annulled 
the Grand Model, and Thomas Smith was appointed governor. 
He was soon superseded by John ^rchdale, a distinguished 
Quaker, under whose administration the colony entered upon 
a new career of prosperity. The quit-rents on lands were remit- 
ted for four years. The Indians were conciliated with kind- 
ness, and the Huguenots protected in their rights. It was a 
real misfortune when, in 1698, the good governor was recalled 
to England. 

7. James Moore was next commissioned as chief magis- 
trate. In December of 1705 he led an expedition against the 
Indians. On the 14th of the month the invaders reached a 
fortified town near St. Mark's. The place was carried by 
assault, and more than two hundred prisoners were taken. On 
the next day Moore's forces defeated a large body of Indians 
and Spaniards. Five towns were carried in succession, and the 
English flag was borne to the Gulf of Mexico. 

8. In the first year of Governor Johnson's administration, 
an act was passed disfranchising all dissenters from the English 
Church, but Parliament voted that the act was contrary to the 
laws of England. In November of the same year the colonial 
legislature revoked the law ; but Episcopalianism continued to 
be the established faith of the province. 

9. In the spring of 17 15 the Yamassees rose upon the 
frontier settlements and committed an atrocious massacre. 
The desperate savages came within a short distance of the 

9.— U. S. Hist. 



i3° 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



capital, and the whole colony was threat- 

The Yamassee enec [ w ith destruction. But Governor Craven 
War. 

rallied the militia, and the savages were 
pursued to the banks of the Salkehatchie. Here a decisive 
battle was fought, and the Indians were completely routed. 
The Yamassees collected their tribe and retired into Florida. 

10. At the close of the war the assembly petitioned the pro- 
prietors to bear a portion of the expense. But they refused, 
and would take no measures for the protection of the colony. 
The people, greatly burdened with rents and taxes, grew dis- 
satisfied with the proprietary government. In the new election 
every delegate was chosen by the popular party. When James 
Moore, the new chief magistrate elected by the people, was to 
be inaugurated, Governor Johnson tried to prevent the cere- 
mony. But the militia collected in the public square, and 
before nightfall the government of Carolina was overthrown. 
Governor Moore, the people's choice, was duly inaugurated in 
the name of King George I. 

ii. Still another change in colonial affairs 
Becomes a . , , T r . , 

_ . _ . was now at hand. In 1720 seven 01 the 
Royal Province. ' y 

proprietors of Carolina sold their claims 

in the province to the king. The sum paid by George II. 

for the two colonies was twenty-two thousand five hundred 

pounds. Royal governors were appointed, and the affairs of 

the province were settled on a permanent basis. 

12. The people who colonized South Carolina were brave 
and chivalrous. The Huguenot, the Scotch Presbyterian, 
the English dissenter, the Irish adventurer, and the Dutch 
mechanic, composed the material of the Palmetto State. 
Equally with the Puritans of the North, the South Carolinians 
were lovers of liberty. The people became the leaders in 
politeness and honor between man and man. 

13. Georgia, the thirteenth American colony, was founded 
by James Oglethorpe, an English philanthropist. The laws 
of England permitted imprisonment for debt. Thousands of 



SOUTH CAROLINA AND GEORGIA. 



English laborers were annually arrested and 
thrown into jail. In order to provide a chartered 
refuge for the poor and the distressed, 
Oglethorpe appealed to George II. for the privilege of plant- 
ing a colony in America. The petition was favorably heard, 
and on the 9th of June, 1732, 
a charter was issued by which 
the territory between the Sa- 
vannah and Altamaha Rivers, 
and westward to the Pacific, 
was granted to a corpora- 
tion, to be held in trust for 
the poor. In honor of the 
king, the new province was 
named Georgia. 

14. Oglethorpe, who was 
a brave soldier and a mem- 
ber of Parliament, was the 
principal member of the cor- 
poration. To him was en- 
trusted the leadership of the 
first colony to be planted on 
the Savannah. By the middle of November a hundred and 
twenty emigrants were ready to sail for the New World. In 
January of 1733 the company was welcomed at Charleston. 
Further south the colonists entered the river, 
an'd on the 1st of February laid the founda- 
tions of Savannah. 

15. The chief of the Yamacraws came from his cabin 'to 
see the new-comers. " Here is a present for you," said he to 
Oglethorpe. The present was a buffalo robe painted with the 
head and feathers of an eagle. " The feathers are soft, and 
signify love; the buffalo skin is the emblem of protection. 
Therefore love us and protect us," said the old chieftain. 
Seeing the advantages of peace, Oglethorpe invited a council 




James Oglethorpe. 



Savannah 
Founded. 



132 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 





Oglethorpe and the Yamacraw Chief. 

at his capital. The conference was held on the 29th of May. 
Long King, the sachem, spoke for all the tribes. The English 
were welcomed to the country. Gifts were made, and the 
governor responded with words of friendship. 

16. The councilors in England encouraged emigration. 
Swiss peasants, Scotch Highlanders, and German Protestants 
all found a home on the Savannah. In April of 1734, Ogle- 
thorpe made a visit to England. It was said in London that 
no colony was ever before founded so wisely as Georgia. The 
councilors prohibited the importation of rum. Traffic with the 
Indians was regulated by a license. Slavery was positively 
forbidden. While the governor was still abroad, a company 
of Moravians arrived at Savannah. 

17. In February of 1736 Oglethorpe came 
back with a colony of three hundred. 
These were also Moravians, people of 
deep piety and fervent spirit. First among them was John 
Wesley, the founder of Methodism. He came to Georgia to 



Coming of 
the Missionaries. 



SOUTH CAROLINA AND GEORGIA. 



!33 



spread the gospel and convert the Indians. But he was doomed 
to much disappointment in his work ; and after a residence of 
less than two years he left the colony. His brother, Charles 
Wesley, came also as a secretary to Governor Oglethorpe. In 
' 1738 the famous George Whitefield came, and preached with 
fiery eloquence through all the colonies. 

18. Meanwhile, Oglethorpe, anticipating war with Florida, 
began to fortify. All of Georgia was embraced in the Spanish 
claim. But Oglethorpe had a charter for the territory as far 
south as the Altamaha. In 1736 he ascended the Savannah 
and built a fort at Augusta. On the north bank of the Alta- 
maha, he built Fort Darien. On St. Simon's Island a fortress 
was erected and named Frederica. The St. John's was claimed 
from this time forth as the southern boundary of Georgia. 
The governor again visited England, and returned with a regi- 
ment of troops. 

19. In October, 1739, England pub-. 

lished a declaration of war against Spain. „ 

1 r Spanish Florida. 

In the first week of the following January, 

Oglethorpe invaded Florida, and captured two fortified towns. 
Soon, with a force of more than a thousand men, he marched 
against St. Augustine, but after a siege of five weeks was com- 
pelled to withdraw. 

20. The Spaniards now determined to carry the war into 
Georgia. In June of 1742 a fleet of thirty-six vessels, carrying 
more than three thousand troops, sailed from St. Augustine for 
the reduction of Fort William on Cumberland Island. But 
Oglethorpe reinforced the garrison, and then fell back to Fred- 
erica. The Spanish vessels followed. From the southern point 
of the island to Frederica, Oglethorpe had cut a road which 
lay between a morass and a forest. The Spaniards must pass 
along this path to attack the town. 

2 1 . The English general posted his men between the swamp 
and the forest. On the 7th of July the enemy reached the 
pass, were fired on from the thicket, and driven back in con- 



134 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



fusion. The main body of the Spanish forces pressed on into 
the same position, stood firm for a while, but were presently 
routed with the loss of two hundred men. The name of 
Bloody Marsh was given to this battle-field. Within a week 
the whole Spanish force reembarked and sailed for Florida. 

22. The colony of Georgia was now firmly established. In 
1743 Oglethorpe departed for England, after having devoted 
ten years to the colony. He had never owned a house nor 
possessed an acre of ground in the province. 

23. The regulations which the council- 

Georgia a ^ Georgia had adopted were poorly 

Royal Province. a r r J 

suited to the wants of the colony. The 

settlers had no titles to their lands. Estates could descend 
only to the oldest sons of families. The colonists charged 
their poverty to the fact that slave-labor was forbidden in the 
province. The proprietary laws became unpopular. The statute 
excluding slavery was not enforced. Slaves began to be hired, 
first for short terms of service, then for longer periods, then for 
one hundred years. Finally, slaves were brought directly from 
Africa and sold to the planters below the Savannah. 

24. The new order of things was acknowledged by the 
councilors; and in June of 1752 they surrendered their patent 
to the king. A royal government was established over the 
country, and the people were granted the freedom of English- 
men. For some time the progress of the colony was not equal 
to the expectations of its founder, but before the Revolution 
Georgia had become a growing province. 



CHAPTER XX. 



French and Indian War. 



THE time came when the American colonies began to act 
together. The final struggle between France and England 
for colonial supremacy in America was at hand. Necessity 
compelled the English colonies to join in a common cause 
against the foe. This is the conflict known as the French 
and Indian War. Causes of war had existed for many years. 

2. The first of these causes was the conflict- 
ing territorial c/aims of the two nations. Eng- . _ _ Tr 

d ° of the War. 

land had colonized the sea-coast; France 

had colonized the interior of the continent. The English 
kings claimed the country from one ocean to the other. The 
French, however, began to push their way westward and south- 
ward along the great lakes to the head- waters of the Wabash, 
the Illinois, and the St. Croix, then down these streams to the 
Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico. The purpose of the 
French was to divide the American continent and take the 
larger portion. 

3. The French soon established military posts at Fron- 
tenac, at Niagara, at the Straits of Mackinaw, and on the 
Illinois. Before 1750, settlements had been made on the 
Maumee, at Detroit, at Green Bay, at Vincennes, at Kaskaskia, 
at Natchez, at New Orleans, and on the Bay of Biloxi. At this 
time the only outposts of the English were a fort at Oswego 
and a few cabins in West Virginia. 

4. The immediate cause of hostilities was a conflict between 
the frontiersmen of the two nations in the Ohio valley. In order 
to prevent the intrusion of the French fur-traders into this coun- 
try, a number of Virginians joined themselves together in a body 

(135) 



136 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



called the Ohio Company. In March of 
Company *749> ^ey received from George II. a 
land-grant of five hundred thousand acres, 
located between the Kanawha and the Monongahela. But 
before the company could send out a colony, the governor of 
Canada dispatched three hundred men to occupy the valley of 
the Ohio. In the next year, however, the Ohio Company sent 
out an exploring party under Christopher Gist, who traversed 
the country and returned to Virginia in 1 751. 

5. This expedition was followed by vigorous movements of 
the French. They built a fort called Le Boeuf, on French 
Creek, and another named Venango, on the Alleghany. About 
the same time, the country south of the Ohio was again ex- 
plored by Gist and a party of armed surveyors. 

6. The Indians were greatly alarmed at the prospect. 
They rather favored the English cause, but their allegiance 
was uncertain. In the spring of 1753, the Miami tribes, 
under the leadership of the Half-King, met Benjamin 
Franklin at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and made a treaty with 
the English. 

7. Before proceeding to actual war, Gov- 
Washington ernor Dinwiddie determined to try a final 
sent to St. Pierre. J 

remonstrance with the French. A paper 

was drawn up setting forth the nature of the English 
claim to the valley of the Ohio, and warning the authorities 
of France against further intrusion. A young surveyor, named 
George Washington, was called upon to carry this paper 
from Williamsburg, Virginia, to General St. Pierre at Presque 
Isle, on Lake Erie. 

8. On the last day of October, 1753? Washington set out on 
his journey. He was attended by four comrades besides an 
interpreter and Christopher Gist, the guide. At Logstown, 
Washington held a council with the Indians, and then pressed 
on to Fort Le Boeuf. Here the conference was held with St. 
Pierre. Washington was received with courtesy, but the gen- 



FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 



*37 



eral of the French was acting, he said, under military instruc- 
tions, and would eject every Englishman from the valley of 
the Ohio. 

9. Washington 
soon took leave of 
the French, and re- 
turned to Venango. 
Then, with Gist as 
his sole companion, 
he left the river and 
struck into the woods. 
Clad in the robe of 
an Indian ; sleeping 
with frozen clothes on 
a bed of pine-brush; 
guided at night by the 
North Star; fired at 
by a prowling savage 
from his covert ; lodg- 
ing on an island in 
the Alleghany until 
the river was frozen 
over; plunging again 
into the forest, the 
young ambassador 
came back without 
wound or scar to the 
capital of Virginia. 
The answer of St. Pierre was laid before the governor, and 
the first public service of Washington was ended. 

10. In the mean time the Ohio Com- 
pany had sent thirty-three men, under 
command of Trent, to erect a fort at the 
source of the Ohio. In March, 1754, they built the first rude 
block-house on the site of Pittsburgh. After all the threats of 




Washington's Route to Ft. le Boeuf. 



English post 
on the Ohio. 



138 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



the French, the English had beaten them in seizing the key 
to the Ohio valley. 

1 1 . Soon, however, French boats came down the river ; and 
Trent was obliged to surrender. Washington was now sta- 
tioned at Alexandria to enlist recruits. But it was too late 
to save Trent's men from capture. The French immediately 
occupied the post, built barracks and laid the foundations of 
Fort Du Quesne. To retake this place Colonel Washington 
set out from Will's Creek in May of 1754. The possession of 
the disputed territory was now to be determined by war. 

12. Washington, with his little army of 

~ , a ,_ e at Virginians, was commissioned to build a 
Great Meadows. & 5 

fort at the source of the Ohio, and to repel 
all who interrupted the English settlements in that country. In 
April the young commander left Will's Creek, and on the 26th 
of May the English reached the Great Meadows. Here Wash- 
ington was informed that the French were on the march to 
attack him. A stockade was immediately erected, and named 
Fort Necessity. Washington determined to strike the first 
blow. Two Indians followed the trail of the enemy, and dis- 
covered their hiding-place. The French were on the alert, 
and flew to arms. " Fire ! " was the command of Washington ; 
and the first volley of a great war went flying through the for- 
est. The engagement was brief and decisive. Jumonville, the 
leader of the French, and ten of his party, were killed, and 
twenty-one were made prisoners. 

13. Before advancing farther, Washington waited for rein- 
forcements. Only one company of volunteers arrived. His 
whole force numbered scarcely four hundred. Learning that 
the French general De Villiers was approaching, Washington 
deemed it prudent to fall back to Fort Necessity. 

14. Scarcely were Washington's forces safe within the stock- 
ade, when, on the 3d of July, the regiment of De Villiers came 
in sight, and surrounded the fort. The French stationed them- 
selves on the eminence, and fired down upon the English with 



FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 



1 39 



fatal effect. The Indians climbed into the tree-tops. For nine 
hours the assailants poured a shower of balls upon Washing- 
ton's men. At length, seeing that it would be impossible to 
hold out, he accepted the terms which were offered by the 
French general. On the 4th of July the English garrison 
marched out of the fort, and withdrew from the country. 

15. Meanwhile, a congress of the Ameri- 
can colonies had assembled at Albany. Congress of 

J the Colonies. 
The first object was to renew the treaty 

with the Iroquois ; the second, to unite the colonies in a com- 
mon government. On the 10th of July, Benjamin Franklin 
presented the draft of a constitution, which was finally adopted. 
Philadelphia was to be the capital. The chief executive was 
to be a governor appointed by the king. Each colony should 
be represented in congress by not less than two or more than 
seven representatives. 

16. Copies of this constitution were transmitted to the sev- 
eral colonies; but the new scheme of government was every- 
where received with disfavor. The English ministers also 
rejected it, saying that the Americans were trying to make 
a government of their ozun. Meanwhile, the French were con- 
stantly preparing for war. 

17. Early in 1755 General Braddock ar- 

j « * . ^1 t r r General Braddock 

rived m America ; the plans of four cam- 

1 Arrives, 
paigns were agreed on. Lawrence, the 

governor of Nova Scotia, was to complete the conquest of that 

province. Governor Johnson, of New York, was to capture 

Crown Point. Shirley, of Massachusetts, was to take Fort 

Niagara. Braddock himself was to lead the main army against 

Fort Du Quesne. 

18. In the latter part of April, the British general set out with 
two thousand veterans, from Alexandria to Fort Cumberland. 
A few provincial troops joined the expedition. Washington 
became an aide-de-camp of Braddock, and frequently gave 
him honest counsel, which the British general rejected. 



140 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



19. Braddock marched with the main body. On the 19th 
of June he put himself at the head of twelve hundred chosen 
troops, and pressed forward toward Fort Du Quesne. On 
the 9th of July, when the English were only twelve miles 
from Fort Du Quesne, they were suddenly fired upon by the 
French and Indians, who were hidden among the rocks and 
ravines. 

20. The battle began with a panic. The men fired con- 
stantly, but could see no enemy. Braddock rushed to the 

front and rallied his men ; but it was all in 
B ])efeat kS vain. They stood huddled together like 
sheep. The forest was strewn with the dead. 
Out of eighty-two officers, twenty-six were killed. Of the pri- 
vates seven hundred and fourteen had fallen. A retreat began 
at once, and Washington, with the Virginians, covered the 
flight of the army. 

21. On the next day the Indians returned to Fort Du Quesne 
clad in the laced coats of the British officers. The wounded Brad- 
dock was borne in the train of the fugitives to Fort Necessity, 
where he died. When they reached Dunbar's camp the con- 
fusion was greater than ever. The artillery, baggage, and 
public stores were destroyed. Then followed a hasty retreat 
to Fort Cumberland, and finally to Philadelphia. 

22. By the treaty of Utrecht, made in 
T - he f n ^ llSl1 I 7 I 3> Acadia, or Nova Scotia, was ceded 

111 ACctClIcl. 

by France to England. The great major- 
ity of the people in that province were French, and the 
English government was only a military occupation. At the 
outbreak of the French and Indian War the population 
amounted to more than sixteen thousand. In a campaign of 
a month, the English now made themselves masters of the 
whole country east of the St. Croix. 

23. The French inhabitants still outnumbered the English, 
and Governor Lawrence determined to drive them into banish- 
ment. The English officers first demanded an oath of alle- 



FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 



141 




Embarkation at Acadia. 

giance, and the surrender of all firearms and boats. The British 
vessels were then made ready to carry the people into exile. 

24. The country about the isthmus was 

1 • 1 j 1 j • The Exile 

now laid waste, and the peasants driven Qf Acadians 

into the larger towns. Wherever a sufficient 

number could be got together they were compelled to go on 

shipboard. At the village of Grand Pre, more than nineteen 

hundred people were driven into the boats at the point of the 

bayonet. Wives and children, old men and mothers, the sick 

and the infirm, all shared the common fate. More than three 

thousand of the Acadians were carried away and scattered, 

helpless and half starved, among the English colonies. 

25. The third campaign planned by Braddock was to be 
conducted by Governor Shirley against Fort Niagara. Early 
in August the attempt was made, but in October had to be 
abandoned. 

26. The fourth expedition was intrusted to 

General William Johnson. The object was to ^^SjlSi. 
capture Crown Point, and drive the French 
from Lake Champlain. Early in August the army proceeded to 
the Hudson above Albany, and built Fort Edward. Thence 
Johnson marched to Lake George and laid out a camp. 



142 



HISTORY OF THE UNITEt) STATES. 



Dieskau 
Defeated. 



27. In the mean time, Dieskau, the French 
commandant at Crown Point, advanced with 
fourteen hundred French, Canadians, and In- 
dians to capture Fort Edward. The Canadians and French 
regulars, unsupported by the Indians, then attacked the Eng- 
lish position. For five hours the battle was incessant. Nearly 
all of Dieskau's men were killed. At last the English 
troops charged across the field, and completed the rout. 
Dieskau was mortally wounded. Two hundred and sixteen 
of the English were killed. General Johnson now constructed 
Fort William Henry on the site of his 
camp. Meanwhile, the French had for- 
tified Ticonderoga. Such was the con- 
dition of affairs at the close of 1755. 

28. In the beginning of the next year 
the command of the English forces was 
given to Governor Shirley. Washington, 
at the head of the Virginia provincials, 
repelled the French and Indians in the 
valley of the Shenandoah. The expe- 
ditions, which were planned for the year, 
embraced the conquest of Quebec and 
the capture of Forts Frontenac, Toronto, 
Niagara, and Du Quesne. 

29. The earl of Loudoun now received 
the appointment of commander-in-chief 
of the British forces. On the 17th of 
May Great Britain, after nearly two 

Lake champlain. years of actual hostilities, made a declara- 
tion of war against France. In July Lord Loudoun assumed 
the command of the colonial army. The French, meanwhile, 
led by the marquis of Montcalm, who had succeeded Die- 
skau, besieged and captured Oswego. 

30. In the following campaign the daring Montcalm, with 
more than seven thousand French, Canadians, and Indians, 




FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 



143 



advanced against Fort William Henry. For six days the 

French pressed the siege with vigor. The ammunition cf the 

garrison was exhausted, and nothing re- 

mained but to surrender. Honorable terms „ .„. „ 

Ft. William Henry. 

were granted by the French. On the 9th of 
August the French took possession of the fortress. Unfor- 
tunately, the Indians procured a quantity of spirits from the 
English camp. In spite of the utmost exertions of Montcalm, 
the savages fell upon the prisoners and massacred thirty of them 
in cold blood. 

31. Such had been the successes of France during the year, 
that the English had not a single hamlet left in the whole basin 
of the St. Lawrence. Every cabin where English was spoken 
had been swept out of the Ohio valley. At the close of the 
year 1757 France possessed twenty times as much American 
territory as England, and five times as much as England and 
Spain together. 

32. William Pitt was now placed at the 

head of the English ministry. Loudoun Louisburg 
& J . Captured. 

was deposed from the American army. 

General Abercrombie was appointed to succeed him. Gen- 
eral Amherst was to lead a division, and young Lord Howe 
was next in rank to Abercrombie. Three expeditions were 
planned for 1758: one to capture Louisburg; a second, to 
reduce Crown Point and Ticonderoga; and the third to re- 
take Fort Du Quesne from the French. The first was success- 
ful, and on the 28th of July, Louisburg capitulated. Cape 
Breton and Prince Edward Island were surrendered to Great 
Britain. The garrison, numbering nearly six thousand men, 
became prisoners of war. 

33. On the 5th of July General Aber- 
crombie, with an army of fifteen thousand m , Defe . at at 

J Ticonderoga. 
men, moved against Ticonderoga. On the 

morning of the 6th the English fell in with the picket line of 

the French. A severe skirmish ensued ; the French were over- 



144 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



whelmed, but Lord Howe was killed in the onset. On the 
morning of the 8th, the English divisions were arranged to 
carry Ticonderoga by assault. A desperate battle of more 
than four hours followed, until, at six o'clock in the evening, 
the English were finally repulsed. The loss on the side of the 
assailants amounted in killed and wounded to nineteen hun- 
dred and sixteen. In no battle of the Revolution did the 
British have so large a force engaged, or meet such terrible loss. 

34. The English now retreated to Fort George. Soon after- 
ward three thousand men, under Colonel Bradstreet, were sent 
against Fort Frontenac, on Lake Ontario, which, after a siege 
of two days, was compelled to capitulate. The fortress was 
demolished. Bradstreet's success more than counterbalanced 
the failure of the English at Ticonderoga. 

35. Late in the summer General Forbes, 
Destruction of . -, 

with nine thousand men, advanced against 
Ft. Du Quesne. . . 

Fort Du Quesne. Washington led the Vir- 
ginia provincials. On the 24th of November he was within 
ten miles of Du Quesne. During that night the garrison took 
the alarm, burned the fortress, and floated down the Ohio. 
On the 25th the victorious army marched in, raised the Eng- 
lish flag, and named the place Pittsburgh. 

36. General Amherst was now promoted to the chief com- 
mand of the American forces. By the beginning of summer, 
1759, the British and colonial armies numbered nearly fifty 
thousand men. The entire French army scarcely exceeded 
seven thousand. Three campaigns were planned for the year : 
General Prideaux was to conduct an expedition against Niagara. 
Amherst was to lead the main division against Ticonderoga 
and Crown Point. General Wolfe was to proceed up the 
St. Lawrence and capture Quebec. 

37. On the 10th of July, Niagara was invested by Prideaux. 
Two weeks later the fort capitulated, and the French, to the 
number of six hundred, became prisoners of war. At the same 
time Amherst was marching with an army of eleven thousand 



FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 



145 



The Plains 
of Abraham. 



men against Ticonderoga. On the 2 2d of July the English 
forces landed, and on the 26th the garrison retreated to Crown 
Point. Five days afterwards they deserted this place also, and 
withdrew to Isle-aux-Noix, in the river Sorel. 

38. Early in the spring General Wolfe began the ascent of 
the St. Lawrence. His force consisted of nearly eight thousand 
men, and a fleet of forty-four vessels. On the 29th of June 
General Monckton was sent to seize Point Levi. 

39. On the 9th of July, General Wolfe crossed the north 
channel, and encamped on the east bank of the Montmorenci. 
This stream was fordable at low water. On the 31st of the 
month a severe battle was fought at the fords of the river, and 
the English were repulsed with heavy losses. 

40. Exposure and fatigue threw the Eng- 
lish general into a fever. It was decided to 
ascend the St. Lawrence, and gain the Plains 
of Abraham, in the rear of the city. The lower camp was 
broken up, and on the 6th of September the troops were 
conveyed to Point Levi. 
Wolfe then transferred his 
army to a point several 
miles up the river. 

41. On the night of 
the 1 2th of September, 
the English dropped down 
the river to a place called 
Wolfs Cove, and in the 
dawn of morning the gen- 
eral marshaled his army 
for battle on the Plains 
of Abraham. Montcalm 
was in amazement when 
he heard the news. With 
great haste the French were brought from the trenches on the 
Montmorenci, and thrown between Quebec and the English. 

10.— U, S. Hist 




146 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



42. The battle began with an hour's can- 

The Taking nonade. The Canadians and Indians were 
of Quebec. 

routed. The French regulars wavered and 
were thrown into confusion. Wolfe, leading the charge, was 
twice wounded, but pressed on. At the moment of victory a 
third ball pierced his breast, and he sank to the earth. " They 
run, they run ! " said the attendant who bent over him. " Who 
run ? " was the response. "The French are flying everywhere," 
replied the officer. " Do they run already ? Then I die 
happy," said the expiring hero. 

43. Montcalm, attempting to rally his regiments, was struck 
by a ball and mortally wounded. " Shall I survive ? " said 
he to his surgeon. " But a few hours at most," answered the 
attendant. " So much the better," replied the heroic French- 
man ; " I shall not live to witness the surrender of Quebec." 

44. Five days after the battle, Quebec was surrendered, and 
an English garrison took possession of the citadel. On the 8th 
of September, in the same year, Montreal, the last important 
post of France in the valley of the St. Lawrence, was sur- 
rendered to General Amherst. 

45. For three years the war between France and England 
continued on the ocean. The English fleets were everywhere 
victorious. On the 10th of February, 1763, a treaty of peace 
was made at Paris. All the French possessions in North 

America, eastward of the Mississippi from 
The Treaty source t0 r i ver Iberville, and thence 

of Pans. ' 

through Lakes Maurepas and Pontchartram 

to the Gulf of Mexico, were surrendered to Great Britain. At 
the same time, Spain, with whom England had been at war, 
ceded East and West Florida to the English Crown. Thus 
closed the French and Indian War. By this conflict it was 
decided that the decaying institutions of the Middle Ages 
should not prevail in America, and that the powerful language, 
just laws, and priceless liberties of the English race should be 
planted forever in the vast domains of the New World, 



QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW AND EXAMINATION. 147 



Review Questions — Part III. 

CHAPTER IX. 

1. Give an account of the first settlement at Jamestown. 

2. What troubles arose within the colony itself, and how were these 
adjusted ? 

3. Trace the course of Captain Smith among the Indians, and in his 
voyages of discovery. 

4. Describe the government of Virginia under the First and Second 
Charters. 

chapter x. 

5. What changes in government were made by the Third Charter ? 

6. Mention the improvement in the colonial industries. 

7. Describe the hardships and the growth of the Virginia colony. 

8. Give an account of the Indian massacre of 1622. 

chapter xi. 

9. Tell of the farther changes in the government, first to a Royal, then 
to a Proprietary. 

10. Give an account of Bacon's Rebellion, with its causes and results. 

CHAPTER XII. 

11. Give an account of the condition and prospects of the Plymouth 
colonists. 

12. What relations existed between these colonists and the Indians ? 

13. Tell about the sectarian troubles and their adjustment. 

14. Outline the general prosperity of New England. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

15. Follow the farther strife between the colonists and the Indians. 

16. Trace the changes in government in the New England Colonies from 
1622-1689. 

17. Give an account of King William's War, with the results to New 
England. 

18. Tell about Salem Witchcraft. 

19. Give an account of Queen Anne's and King George's wars, with the 
causes of each and the final adjustments. 

2Q, Sketch the character of the Puritan, 



148 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

21. Outline the settlements of the Dutch and their conflicts with the 
English and the Swedes. 

22. Trace the conflict between the Dutch and the Indians. 

CHAPTER XV. 

23. What of the condition, the government, and the progress of New 
York under the English rule ? 

24. Give an account of the " Negro Plot." 

CHAPTER XVI. 

25. Mention the several claims to the territory of Connecticut. 

26. Tell the story of the Pequod War. 

27. Outline the government and the general prosperity of Connecticut. 

28. Give an account of Roger Williams, and the organization of the 
"Plantation of Rhode Island." 

29. Tell of the founding and growth of New Hampshire. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

30. Sketch the history of New Jersey, and its final separation from 
Pennsylvania. 

31. Tell the story of William Penn, and his career in Pennsylvania. 

/ 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

32. Give an account of the founding and development of Maryland. 

33. Give an account of the colonization and progress of North Carolina. 

CHAPTER XIX. 

34. Tell of the founding of South Carolina. 

35. Recite the affairs of Georgia under Oglethorpe. 

36. Outline the troubles between the English and the Spaniards in 
Georgia and Florida. 

CHAPTER XX. 

37. What were the leading causes of the French and Indian War ? 

38. Give an account of Washington's expedition to St. Pierre. 

39. Give an account of the capture of Fort Necessity. 

40. Give an outline of Braddock's campaign. 

41. What were the leading events of the campaign of Wolfe? 



Part IV. 

REVOLUTION AND CONFEDERATION. 

A. D. 1775-1789. 



CHAPTER XXI. 
Causes of the Revolution. 

THE American Revolution was an event of vast importance. 
The question decided by it was whether the English 
colonies in America should govern themselves, or be ruled by 
Great Britain. The decision was in favor of independence. 
The result has been the grandest republican government the 
world has ever known. 

2. The most general cause of the Revolu- 

General 

tlOn was THE RIGHT OF ARBITRARY GOVERN- 

. . Causes. 
ment, claimed by Great Britain and denied 

by the colonies. The question began to be discussed 

about the time of the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, in 1748; and 

from that period until 1775, each year witnessed a renewal of 

the agitation. But there were also many minor causes tending 

to bring on a conflict with the mother- country. 

3. First of these w r as the influence of France, inciting the 
colonies to rebel. The French had ceded Canada to Great 
Britain with the hope of securing American independence. 
England feared such a result. It was even proposed in Parlia- 
ment to re-cede Canada to France, in order to check the 
growth of the American States. 

(149) 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



4. Another cause was the natural disposition of the colonists. 
Many of the original settlers came to America to escape the 
tyranny of kings, and their descendants naturally favored a 
representative government. The dealings of the colonists with 
the royal officers had created a dislike for foreign institutions. 

5. The growth of public opinion in the colonies tended to in- 
dependence. The better class of men came to believe that a 
separation from England was very desirable. As early as 1755, 
John Adams, then a young school-teacher in Connecticut, wrote 
in his diary : " In another century all Europe will not be able 
to subdue us. The only way to keep us from setting up for 
ourselves is to disunite us." 

6. Another cause of the Revolution was the personal char- 
acter of the ki?tg. George III. was one of the worst of rulers, 
and had no true notion of human rights. His ministers were, 
for the most part, men like himself. 

7. The more immediate cause of the w T ar 
Immediate ' u t» r . r u 

Causes was passage by Parliament of a number 

of laws destructive of colonial liberty. The 
first of these was the Importation Act of 1733. By this 
statute exorbitant duties were laid on sugar, molasses, and 
rum. In 1750 it was enacted that iron-works should not be 
erected in America. The manufacture of steel was forbidden, 
and the felling of pines outside of inclosures. These laws were 
disregarded by the colonists, who considered them unjust and 
tyrannical. In 1761 the courts were authorized to issue to 

petty officers search-warrants, called Writs of 

Acts Restricting Assistance, by which constables might enter 
Trade. ' J 

every place, searching for goods suspected 

of having evaded the duty. At Salem and Boston the writs 

were resisted., 

8. In 1763, and again in the following year, the English 
officers were authorized to seize all vessels engaged in unlaw- 
ful trade. Before this was known at Boston, a great town- 
meeting was held. Samuel Adams was the orator. A powerful 



CAUSES OF THE REVOLUTION. 



argument was produced, showing that under the British consti- 
tution taxation and representation were inseparable, 

9. On the 10th of March, 1764, Mr. Grenville, the prime 
minister, brought before the House of Commons a resolution 
that it would be proper to charge certain stamp-duties on the 
American colonies, The news of the measure was borne to 
America, producing universal excitement. Resolutions against 
the acts of the ministers were passed in almost every town. 
Remonstrances were addressed to the king and the Parliament. 

10. Nevertheless, in March of 1765, the 

English Parliament passed the Stamp Act. ^^^^ 
In the House of Commons it received a 
majority of five to one. In the House of Lords the vote 
was unanimous. On the 2 2d of the month, the royal assent 
was given. Benjamin Franklin, then in London, wrote to a 
friend at home that the sun of American liberty had set. 

11. The provisions of the Stamp Act were these: Every 
legal document required in the colonies should, after the 1st 
day of the following November, be executed on stamped paper 
to be furnished by the British government. For each sheet 
the colonists were required to pay a sum varying from three 
pence to six pounds sterling. Every pamphlet, almanac, and 
newspaper was to be printed on paper of the same sort, the 
value of the stamps ranging from a half-penny to four pence. 
No contract should be binding unless bearing the stamp. 

12. The news of the hateful act created great wrath in 
America. The bells of Philadelphia and Boston rang a funeral 
knell. In New York a copy of the Stamp Act was carried 
through the streets with a death's-head nailed to it, and a 
placard bearing this inscription : The Folly of England and 
the Ruin of America. The general assemblies were at first 
slow to move; there were many old royalists among the mem- 
bers. But the younger representatives did not hesitate to 
express their sentiments. In the Virginia House of Burgesses 
there was a memorable scene. 



HISTORY 0£ THE UNITED STATES. 



13. Patrick Henry, the youngest member of 

Patrick ^ e House, after waiting in vain for some older 
Henry. D 

delegate to lead m opposition to Parliament, 

snatched a blank leaf out of an old law book and drew up a 
series of six resolutions, declaring that the Virginians were Eng- 
lishmen with English rights; that the colonists were not bound 
to yield obedience to any law imposing taxation on them ; and 
that whoever said the contrary was an enemy to the country. 
14. A violent debate ensued. Two future Presidents of the 

United States were in the 
audience : Washington as a 
delegate, and Thomas Jeffer- 
son, a young collegian, out- 
side of the railing. The elo- 
quent Henry bore down all 
opposition. " Caesar had his 
Brutus," said the orator; 
" Charles I. had his Crom- 
well, and George III. — " 
" Treason ! " shouted the 
speaker. " Treason ! trea- 
son!" exclaimed the royal- 
ists, springing to their feet. 
" And George III. may profit 
by their example," continued 
Henry ; and then added, " If that be treason, make the most of 
it ! " The six resolutions were carried ; but on the next day, 
when Henry was absent, the powerful aristocratic and church 
party secured the repeal of two of the more violent resolu- 
tions. 

15. Similar resolutions were adopted by 
the assemblies of New York and Massa- 
chusetts. James Otis proposed an American 
Congress. The proposition was favorably received by nine 
of the colonies; and, on the 7th of October, the first colonial 




Patrick Henry. 



The " Stamp Act 
Congress," 1765. 



CAUSES OF THE REVOLUTION. 



Congress, called the Stamp Act Congress, assembled at New 
York. Timothy Ruggles, of Massachusetts, was chosen presi- 
dent. A Declaration of Rights was adopted setting forth that 
the American colonists, as Englishmen, could not consent to 
be taxed but by their own representatives. Memorials were 
sent to Parliament and a petition to the king. 

1 6. On the ist of November the Stamp Act was to take effect. 
During the summer great quantities of the stamped paper had 
been sent to America. But everywhere it was rejected or de- 
stroyed. The i st of November was kept as a day of mourning. 

17. At first, legal business was suspended. 

The court-houses were shut up. Not even j*.° ns L° f 

Liberty. 

a marriage license could be legally issued. 
By and by, the offices were opened, and business went 
on as before, but not with stamped paper. It was at this time 
that the patriotic society, known as the Sons of Liberty, was 
organized. The merchants of New York, Boston, and Phila- 
delphia entered into a compact to purchase no more goods of 
Great Britain until the Stamp Act should be repealed. 

18. The colonists had their friends in England. Eminent 
statesmen espoused the cause of America. In the House of 
Commons Mr. Pitt delivered a powerful address. " You have," 
said he, " no right to tax America. I rejoice that America has 
resisted." On the 18th of March, 1766, the Stamp Act was 
formally repealed. But at the same time a resolution was 
added, declaring that Parliament had the right to bifid the col- 
onies in all cases whatsoever. 

19. The repeal of the Stamp Act pro- 
duced great joy, both in England and Amer- ^temp^ct 16 
ica. But on the 29th of June, 1767, an- 
other act was passed imposing a duty on all the glass, paper, 
painters' colors, and tea which should thereafter be imported 
into the colonies. 

20. The resentment of the Americans burst out anew An- 
other agreement not to purchase British goods was entered 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



into by the American merchants. The newspapers were 
filled with denunciations of Parliament. In the month of June, 
a sloop, charged with evading the payment of duty, was seized 
by the custom-house officers of Boston. But the people at- 
tacked the houses of the officers, and obliged the occupants to 
fly to Castle William. General Gage was now ordered to 
bring from Halifax a regiment of regulars and overawe the 
people. On the ist of October the troops, seven hundred 
strong, marched with fixed bayonets into the capital of Massa- 
chusetts. 

21. In February of 1769 the people of 

^ ' , . Massachusetts were declared rebels, and 

the Colonies. 

the governor was directed to arrest those 
deemed guilty and send them to England for trial. The 
general assembly met this outrage with defiant resolutions. 
Similar scenes were enacted in Virginia and North Carolina. 

22. Early in 1770 the soldiers in New York cut down a 
liberty pole which stood in the park. A conflict ensued, 
in which the people won the day. On the 5th of March, a 
more serious difficulty occurred in Boston. A crowd of 
people surrounded Captain Preston's company of the city 
guard, hooted at them, and dared them to fire. At length the 
soldiers discharged a volley, killing three of the citizens and . 
wounding several others. This outrage, known as the Boston 

Massacre, created a profound sensation. 
The Boston ^ . . ^ , , . 

Captain Preston and his company were ar- 
Massacre. 1 1 J 

rested and tried for murder. Two of the 
offenders were convicted of manslaughter. 

23. Parliament now passed an act repealing all duties on 
American imports except that on tea. The people, in answer, 
pledged themselves to use no more tea until the duty should 
be unconditionally repealed. In 1773 Parliament removed the 
export duty which had hitherto been charged on tea shipped 
from England. The price of tea was thus lowered, and the 
ministers thought that, when the cheaper tea was offered in 



CAUSES OF THE REVOLUTION. 



155 





America, the colonists would pay 
the import duty without sus- 
picion. Ships were loaded with 
tea for the American market. 
Some of the vessels reached 

Charleston; but the chests were stored in cellars, and 
the contents ruined. At New York and Philadelphia the 
ships were forbidden to enter. At Bos- 
ton the authorities would not permit the 
tea to be landed. On the 16th of De- 
cember there was a great town-meeting, at which seven 
thousand people were present. Adams and Quincy spoke 
to the multitudes. Evening came on, and the meeting 
was about to adjourn, when a war-whoop was heard, and 
fifty men disguised as Indians marched to the wharf where 



The Boston 
Tea Party. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



the tea-ships were at anchor, boarded the vessels, and emptied 
three hundred and forty chests of tea into the bay. Such was 
the Boston Tea Party. 

24. Parliament made haste to find re- 
Port Bill venge. On the last day of March, 1774, 

the Boston Port Bill was passed. It was 
enacted that no kind of merchandise should any longer be 
landed or shipped at the wharves of Boston. The custom- 
house was removed to Salem, but the people of that town 
refused to accept it. The inhabitants of Marblehead gave the 
free use of their warehouses to the merchants of Boston. When 
the news of the Port Bill reached Virginia, the burgesses 
entered a protest on their journal. Governor Dunmore ordered 
the members to their homes ; but they met and continued their 
work in another place. On the 20th of May, the charter of 
Massachusetts was annulled. The people were declared rebels, 
and the governor was ordered to send abroad for trial all per- 
sons who should resist the officers. 

25. In September the First Continen- 
First Continental r , , , 

„„„„ tal Congress assembled at Philadelphia. 
Congress, 1774. . 1 

Eleven colonies were represented. One ad- 
dress was sent to the king ; another to the English nation ; and 
another to the people of Canada. A resolution was adopted 
to suspend all commercial intercourse with Great Britain. 
Parliament retaliated by ordering General Gage to reduce the 
colonists by force. A fleet and ten thousand soldiers were sent 
to aid him. 

26. Boston Neck was seized and fortified by the British. 
The stores at Cambridge and Charlestown were conveyed to 
Boston ; and the general assembly was ordered to disband. 
Instead of doing so, the members voted to equip an army of 
twelve thousand men for defence. There was no longer any 
hope of a peaceable adjustment. The colonists were few and 
feeble ; but they were men of iron wills who had made up their 
minds to die for liberty. 



CHAPTER XXII. 



The Beginning of the Revolution. — Events of 1775. 

AS soon as the intentions of General Gage 
P3.11I Revere's 
were known, the people of Boston, con- ^ 

cealing their ammunition in carts, conveyed 

it to Concord. On the night of the 18th of April, Gage 

dispatched eight hundred men to destroy the stores. The plan 

of the British was made with great secrecy ; but the patriots 

discovered the movement. When the regiment, under corn-. 

mand ^€olao^ Smith a»d Major Pitcairn, set Out for Concord, 

the people of Boston were roused by the ringing of bells and 

the firing of cannon. William Dawes and Paul Revere rode 

with all speed to Lexington and spread the alarm through the 

country. 

2. At two o'clock in the morning, a com- 
pany of one hundred and thirty minute-men T ^ e at 
r J J Lexington, 
assembled on the common at Lexington. No 

enemy appeared until five o'clock, when the British, under 
command of Pitcairn, came in sight. The provincials were led 
by Captain Parker. Pitcairn rode up and exclaimed : " Dis- 
perse, ye villains ! Throw down your arms ! " The minute-men 
stood still, and Pitcairn cried, " Fire ! " The first volley of the 
Revolution whistled through the air, and sixteen of the patriots 
fell dead or wounded. The rest fired a few shots and dispersed. 

3. The British pressed on to Concord; but the inhabitants 
had removed the stores to a place of safety, and there was but 
little destruction. While the British were ransacking the town, 
the minute-men encountered a company of soldiers who were 
guarding the North Bridge. Here the Americans fired, and 
two British soldiers were killed. The rest began a retreat 

(157) 



J S 8 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 




through the town toward Lexington. For six miles the battle 
was kept up along the road. Hidden behind trees, fences, and 
barns, the patriots poured a constant fire upon the ranks of the 
enemy. The American loss was forty-nine killed, thirty-four 
wounded, and five missing ; that of the enemy was two hundred 
and seventy-three. 

4. The battle of Lexington fired the country. Within a 
few days an army of twenty thousand men gathered about 



THE BEGINNING OF THE REVOLUTION. 



*59 



Boston. A line of intrenchments was drawn from Roxbury 
to Chelsea. John Stark came down with the New Hampshire 
militia. Rhode Island sent her men under Nathaniel Greene. 
Benedict Arnold came with the provincials of New Haven. 
Ethan Allen, with a company of two hundred and seventy 
patriots, advanced against Ticonderoga. Benedict Arnold 
joined the expedition as a private. On the evening of the 9th 
of May, the force reached the shore of Lake George, opposite 
Ticonderoga. 

5. On the following morning, eighty-three 

■1 -1 . , ^ . Ethan Allen 

men succeeded m crossing. \\ ith this mere 

. at Ticonderoga. 

handful, Allen made a dash and gained 
the gateway of the fort. He rushed to the quarters of the 
commandant, and cried out: " Surrender this fort instantly ! " 
"By what authority?" inquired the officer. k * In the name 
of the great Jehovah and the Continental Congress," said 
Allen, flourishing his sword. The garrison were made pris- 
oners and sent to Connecticut, and vast quantities of military 
stores fell into the hands of the Americans. Two days after- 
wards Crown Point was also taken. 

6. On the 25th of May, Generals Howe, Clinton, and Bur- 
goyne arrived at Boston. The British army was augmented to 
more than ten thousand men. It was now rumored that Gage 
was about to sally out of Boston to burn the neighboring towns 
and devastate the country. The Americans determined to 
anticipate this movement by fortifying Bunker Hill, which 
commanded the peninsula of Charlestown. 

7. On the night of the 16th of June, Colonel Prescott was 
sent with a thousand men to intrench the hill. The provincials 
reached the eminence; but Prescott and his engineer, not 
liking the position, proceeded down the peninsula to Breed's 
Hill, within cannon range of Boston. Here a redoubt was 
thrown up during the night. The British ships in the harbor 
were so near that the Americans could hear the sentinels re- 
peating the night-call, "All is well." 



i6o 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Battle of 
Bunker Hill. 



8. As soon as it was light, General Gage 
ordered the ships to cannonade the Amer- 
ican position. The British batteries on 
Copp's Hill also opened fire. Just after noon, three thousand 
British veterans, commanded by Generals Howe and Pigot, 
landed at Morton's Point. The Americans numbered about 
fifteen hundred. Charlestown was burned by the British as 
they advanced. Thousands of spectators climbed to the house- 
tops in Boston to watch the battle. On came the British in a 
stately and imposing column. 

9. The Americans reserved their fire until the advancing line 
was within a hundred and fifty feet. Then instantly every gun 
was discharged. The front rank of the British melted away, 
and the rest hastily retreated. Howe rallied his men and led 
the second charge. Again the American fire was withheld 

until the enemy was but a 
few rods distant. Then 
volley after volley was 
poured upon the column 
until it was broken and 
driven into flight. 

10. The vessels of the 
British fleet now changed 
position until the guns 
were brought to bear upon 
the American works. For 
the third time, the British 
soldiers charged with fixed 
bayonets up the hillside. 
The Americans had but 
three or four rounds of ammunition remaining. These were ex- 
pended on the advancing enemy. Then there was a lull. The 
British clambered over the ramparts. The provincials hurled 
stones at the assailants. It was in vain ; they were driven out of 
their trenches at the point of the bayonet. The brave Warren gave 




BOSTON. 

j~j ) TwolMAles. 



THE BEGINNING OF THE REVOLUTION. 



161 



his life for freedom. The loss of the British in the engagement 
was a thousand and fifty-four in killed and wounded. The 
Americans lost one hundred and fifteen killed, three hundred 
and five wounded, and thirty-two prisoners. Prescott and Put- 
nam conducted the retreat to Prospect Hill. 

11. The battle of Bunker Hill rather inspired than discour- 
aged the colonists. The news was borne to the South, and a 
spirit of determined opposition was everywhere aroused. The 
people began to speak of the United Colonies of America. 
At Charlotte, North Carolina, the citizens came together in 
convention, and made a declaration of independence, 

12. On the day of the capture of, Ticon- 

i P . i ^ w a Second Continental 

deroga, the Continental Congress assembled n ,„„ c 
to ' & Congress, 1775. 

at Philadelphia. Washington was there, and 

John Adams and Samuel Adams, Franklin and Patrick 
Henry ; Jefferson came soon afterwards. A last appeal was 
addressed to the king ; and he was told that the colonists had 
chosen war in preference to slavery. Early in the session 
John Adams made an address, in the course of which he noticed 
the necessity of appointing a commander-in-chief, and the quali- 
ties requisite in that high officer. The speaker concluded by 
putting in nomination George Washington, of Virginia. On 
the 15th of June, the nomination was confirmed by Congress; 
and the man who had saved the wreck of Braddock's army 
was called to build a nation. 

13. George Washington was born in 

Westmoreland county, Virginia, on the nth Washington 

J 7 Commander-m- 
of February (Old Style), 1732. At the age chief§ 

of eleven he was left to the sole care of his 

mother. His education was limited to the common branches 

of learning. Surveying was his favorite study. At the age of 

sixteen he was sent by his uncle to survey a tract of land on 

the South Potomac. The important duties which he performed 

in the service of the Ohio Company, and his campaign with 

Braddock have already been narrated. With great dignity 

11.— U. S. Hist. 



162 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



he accepted the appointment of commander-in-chief, and set 
out to join the army at Cambridge. 

14. Congress had voted to equip twenty 
Organization of thousand men, but the means of doing so 

Continental Army. . \ . ° 

were not furnished. Washington had a force 

of fourteen thousand five hundred volunteers, undisciplined and 
insubordinate. The supplies of war were almost wholly want- 
ing. The army was soon organized in three divisions: the 
right wing was under General Ward, the left commanded by 
General Charles Lee, the center under the commander-in- 
chief. The siege of Boston was pressed with vigor. The 
king's authority was overthrown in all the colonies. 

15. The Americans looked to Canada for 

Expedition order to encourage the people of 

against Canada. . 1 1 

that province to take up arms, Generals 

Schuyler and Montgomery were ordered to proceed against 
St. John and Montreal, both of which were finally taken. 
Montgomery next proceeded, with three hundred men, against 
Quebec. In the mean time, Colonel Arnold had set out with 
a thousand men from Cambridge. At Point aux Trembles 
he was joined by Montgomery, who assumed command. For 
three weeks, with his handful of troops, Montgomery besieged 
Quebec, and then staked everything on an assault. 

16. Before daybreak on the 31st of December, Montgomery 
attacked the Lower Town. At the first discharge Montgomery 
fell dead. The men, heartbroken at their loss, retreated above 
the city. Arnold had meanwhile fought his way into the 
Lower Town, but was severely wounded and borne to the 
rear. Captain Morgan led his brave band along the narrow 
streets until he was overwhelmed and compelled to surrender. 
Arnold retired to a point three miles above the city. The 
small-pox broke out in the camp ; and in the following June 
the Americans evacuated Canada. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 



The Events of 1776. 

AT last came the king's answer to the appeal of Congress. 
l. The petition of the colonies was rejected with contempt. 
By this tyrannical answer the day of independence w r as brought 
nearer. Meanwhile, General Howe had succeeded Gage in 
command of the British troops in Boston. 

2. All winter long the city was besieged by Washington. 
By the first of spring, 1776, it was resolved to seize Dorchester 
Heights and drive Howe out of Boston. On the night of the 
4th of March a detachment under cover of the darkness 
reached the Heights unperceived. The British noticed nothing 
unusual; but, w T hen morning dawned, Howe saw at a glance 
that he must carry the American position or abandon the city. 
He ordered his men to storm the Heights before nightfall. 

3. Washington visited the trenches and 

1 j i • ^ The British driven 

exhorted his men. It was the anniversary _ „ L 

J from Boston, 
of the Boston Massacre. A battle was mo- 
mentarily expected; but while the British delayed, a storm 
arose and rendered the harbor impassable, and the attack could 
not be made. Before the following morning the Americans 
had so strengthened their fortifications that all thoughts of 
an assault were abandoned. Howe found himself reduced to 
the extremity of giving up the capital of New England. 

4. After some days there was an agreement between Wash- 
ington and the British general that the latter should retire from 
Boston unmolested on condition that the city should not be 
burned. On the 17th of March, the whole British army sailed 
away. The American advance at once entered the city. On 
the 20th, Washington made a formal entry at the head of the 

(163) 



164 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



triumphant army. The country was wild with delight. Con- 
gress ordered a gold medal to be struck in honor of Washing- 
ton's victory over the enemy. 

5. In a short time, the commander-in-chief repaired with 
the army to New York. General Lee pressed forward with 
the Connecticut militia, and reached that city just in time to 
baffle an attempt of Sir Henry Clinton, who next sailed south- 
ward, and was joined by Sir Peter Parker and Lord Cornwal- 
lis with two thousand five hundred men. The force of the 
British was deemed sufficient to capture Charleston. 

6. The Carolinians, led by General Lee, 
British Eepulsed . , a 1 j . "^1 1 *. 

. ™ , x rose m arms and nocked to Charleston, 
at Charleston. 

The city was fortified ; and a fort, which 
commanded the entrance to the harbor, was built on Sullivan's 
Island. On the 4th of June the British squadron came in sight. 
On the 28th the British fleet began a bombardment of the for- 
tress, which was commanded by Colonel Moultrie; but the walls, 
built of palmetto, were little injured. As evening drew on, the 
British were obliged to retire with a loss of two hundred men. 
The loss of the garrison amounted to thirty-two. 

7. During the summer Washington's forces were increased 
to twenty-seven thousand men, but the effective force was little 
more than half that number. Great Britain was making the 
greatest preparations. By a treaty with some of the German 
States, seventeen thousand Hessians were hired to fight against 
America. Twenty-five thousand English troops were levied ; 
and a million dollars were voted for the expenses of the war. 

8. Thus far the colonists had claimed to be loyal subjects 
of Great Britain. Now the case seemed hopeless. The people 
urged the general assemblies, and the general assemblies urged 
Congress, to a declaration of independence. Congress re- 
sponded by recommending the colonies to adopt such govern- 
ments as might best conduce to the safety of the people. 

9. On the 7th of June, 1776, Richard Henry Lee, of Vir- 
ginia, offered a resolution in Congress declaring that the United 



THE EVENTS OF 1 7 76. 




Jefferson reading the Declaration in Committee. 

Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States. 
A long and exciting debate ensued. The final consideration of 
Lee's resolution was postponed until the ist of July. On the 
nth of June, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Frank- 
lin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston were appointed 
a committee to prepare a formal declaration. 

10. On the ist of July the committee's report was laid be- 
fore Congress. On the next day Lee's reso- 
lution was adopted. During the 3d the formal 
declaration was debated with great spirit. The 
discussion was resumed on the 4th, and at two o'clock in the 
afternoon the Declaration of American Independence was 
adopted by a unanimous vote. 

11. The old bellman of the State House rang out the note of 
freedom to the nation. The multitudes caught the signal and 



Declaration 
of Independence. 



i66 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



answered with shouts. Everywhere the declaration was re- 
ceived with enthusiastic applause. At Philadelphia the king's 
arms were torn down and burned in the street. At Williams- 
burg, Charleston, and Savannah there were bonfires. At Bos- 
ton the declaration was read in Faneuil Hall. At New York 
the populace pulled down the statue of George III. and cast it 
into bullets. Washington ordered that the declaration be read 
at the head of each brigade. 

12. The leading principles of the Declaration of Independ- 
ence are these: That all men are created equal; that govern- 
ments are instituted for the welfare of the people; that the 
people have a right to alter their government; that the gov- 
ernment of George III. had become destructive of liberty; that 
the king's tyranny over his American subjects was no longer 
endurable ; and that, therefore, the United Colonies of America 
are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States. 

13. Early in July, General Howe landed 

Operations a force of nine thousand men on Staten Is- 
about New York. 

land. Thither Clinton came from the siege 
of Charleston, and Admiral Howe from England. The 
British force in the vicinity of New York amounted to thirty 
thousand men. Nearly half of them were Hessians. Wash- 
ington's army was greatly inferior in numbers and discipline. 

14. Lord Howe had been instructed to try conciliatory 
measures with the Americans. First, he sent to the American 
camp a dispatch directed to George Washington, Esquire. 
Washington refused to receive a communication which did not 
recognize his official position. Howe then sent another mes- 
sage, addressed to George Washington, etc., etc., etc.; and the 
bearer insisted that and-so-forth might mean General of the 
American Army. But Washington sent the officer away. 

15. Lord Howe and his brother at once 

Long Island began hostilities. On the 2 2d of August, 
the British, to the number of ten thou- 
sand, landed on Long Island. The Americans, about eight 



THE EVENTS OF IJj6. 



167 



thousand strong, were posted in the vicinity of Brooklyn. 
On the morning of the 27th of August, Grant's division of the 
British army was met by General Stirling with fifteen hundred 
men, and the battle at once began, but there was no decisive 
result. General Heister advanced beyond Flatbush, and en- 
gaged the main body of the Americans, under General Sullivan. 
Here the Hessians gained little or no ground until Sullivan 
was alarmed by the noise of battle on his left and rear. 

16. During the night General Clinton had occupied the 
heights above the Jamaica road, and now came down by way 
of Bedford. Sullivan found himself surrounded and cut off. 
The men fought bravely, and many broke through the lines of 
the British. The rest were scattered, killed, or taken prisoners. 

17. Cornwallis, attempting to cut off Stirling's retreat, was 
repulsed. Most of Stirling's men reached the American lines 
at Brooklyn. Generals Stirling, Sullivan, and Woodhull were 
taken prisoners. Nearly a thousand patriots were killed or 
missing. It seemed an easy thing for Clinton and Howe to 
capture all the rest. 

18. Washington resolved to withdraw to New York. The 
enterprise was extremely hazardous. At eight o'clock in the 
evening the embarkation of the army began. All night with 
muffled oars the boatmen rowed silently back and forth. At 
daylight the movement was discovered by the British. They 
rushed into the American intrenchments and found nothing 
but a few worthless guns. 

19. The defeat on Long Island was very 

disastrous to the American cause. Many of Br ^ isl1 Occupy 

J New York, 

the troops returned to their homes. Only by 

constant exertion did Washington keep his army from disband- 
ing. The British fleet anchored within cannon-shot of New 
York. Washington retired to the Heights of Harlem. On the 
15th of September the British landed three miles above New 
York. Thence they extended their lines and took possession 
of the city. 



/ 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Battle of 
White Plains. 



NEW YORK 

AND 

VICINITY. 



20. On the 1 6th of October, Howe em- 
barked his forces, passed into Long Island 
Sound, and landed in the vicinity of West- 
chester. The object was to get upon the American flank 
and cut off communications with the Eastern States. On the 
28th a battle was brought on at White Plains. The Americans 

were driven from one 
position, but intrenched 
themselves in another, 
then withdrew to the 
heights of North Castle. 
Howe remained for a few 
days at White Plains, and 
returned to New York. 

21. Washington now 
crossed to the west bank 
of the Hudson and took 
post at Fort Lee. Four 
thousand men were left 
at North Castle under 
General Lee. Fort Wash- 
ington, on Manhattan 
Island, was defended by 
three thousand men 'un- 
der Colonel Magaw. The skillful construction of this fort 
had attracted the attention of Washington, and led to an 
acquaintance with the engineer, Alexander Hamilton, then 
a stripling but twenty years of age. 

22. On the 1 6th of November, Fort Wash- 
ington was captured by the British. The 
garrison were made prisoners of war and 
crowded into the jails of New York. Two days after the sur- 
render, Fort Lee was taken by Lord Cornwallis. Washington 
with his army, now reduced to three thousand men, retreated 
to Trenton on the Delaware. Nothing but the skill of the 




Washington 
retreats toTrenton, 



THE EVENTS OF 1 776. 



169 



commander saved the remnant of his forces from destruc- 
tion. 

23. On the 8th of December, Washington crossed the Dela- 
ware. Cornwallis, having no boats, was obliged to wait for 
the freezing of the river. It was seen that as soon as the river 
should be frozen the British would march into Philadelphia. 
Congress accordingly adjourned to Baltimore. During his re- 
treat across New Jersey, Washington sent dispatches to Gen- 
eral Lee, at North Castle, to join the main army as soon as 
possible. That officer took up his quarters at Basking Ridge. 
On the 13th of December, a squad of British cavalry captured 
Lee and hurried him off to New York. General Sullivan took 
command of Lee's division, and hastened to join Washington. 
The entire American force now amounted to a little more than 
six thousand. 

24. The tide of misfortune turned at last. 
Washington saw in the disposition of the Victory at 
-r» • • 1 r • 1 Trenton. 
British forces an opportunity to strike a 

blow for his country. The leaders of the enemy were off 
their guard. The Hessians on the east side of the river were 
spread out from Trenton to Burlington. Washington con- 
ceived the design of crossing the Delaware and striking the 
detachment at Trenton before a concentration of the enemy's 
forces could be effected. The American army was arranged 
in three divisions under Generals Cadwallader, Ewing, and 
Washington himself. Christmas night was selected as the time 
for the movement. 

25. The Delaware was filled with floating ice. Ewing and 
Cadwallader were both baffled in their efforts to cross the 
river. Washington, having succeeded in getting over, divided 
his army of twenty- four hundred men into two columns and 
pressed forward. At eight o'clock in the morning the Ameri- 
cans came rushing into Trenton from both directions. The 
Hessians sprang from their quarters and attempted to form in 
line. Colonel Rail was mortally wounded. Nearly a thou- 



170 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Effect of 
the victory. 



CENTRAL 
NEW JERSEY 



sand of the Hessians threw down their arms and begged for 
quarter. Before nightfall Washington, with his army and the 
whole body of captives, was safe on the other side of the 
Delaware. 

26. The battle of Trenton roused the 
nation from despondency. The militia 
flocked to the general's standard; and four- 
teen hundred soldiers, whose term of enlistment now ex- 
pired, reentered the service. Robert Morris, the great finan- 
cier of the Revolu- 
tion, came forward 
with his fortune to 
the support of his 
country. 

27. Three days 
after his victory, 
Washington again 
crossed the Dela- 
ware. Here all the 
American detach- 
ments in the vicinity 
were ordered to as- 
semble. To General 
Heath, stationed at 
Peekskill, Washing- 
ton sent orders to 
move into New Jersey. The British fell back from their out- 
posts and concentrated at Princeton. Cornwallis resumed 
command in person. So closed the year. Ten days previously, 
Howe only waited for the freezing of the Delaware before tak- 
ing up his quarters in Philadelphia. Now it was a question 
whether he would be able to hold a single town in New Jersey. 




CHAPTER XXIV. 



Operations of 1777. 



N the 1 st of January, 1777, Washington's army at Trenton 



V_y numbered about five thousand men. On the next day 
Cornwallis approached with greatly superior forces. During 
the afternoon there was severe skirmishing along the roads east 
of Trenton. During the night Washington called a council of 
war, and it was determined to leave the camp, pass the British 
left flank, and strike the enemy at Princeton. The baggage was 
removed to Burlington. The camp-fires were brightly kindled 
and kept burning through the night, while the army was in 
motion toward Princeton. Everything was done in silence. 
The morning light showed the British sentries a deserted camp. 

2. At sunrise Washington was entering 

Princeton. At the same time the British Battle of 

Princeton. 

were marching out to reinforce Cornwallis. 
The Americans met them in the edge of the village, and the 
battle at once began. The British charged bayonets, and the 
militia gave way in confusion. General Mercer received a 
mortal wound. But the Pennsylvania regulars, led by the com- 
mander-in-chief, stood their ground. Washington rallied his 
men with the greatest bravery ; and the British were routed, 
with a loss of four hundred and thirty men in killed, wounded, 
and missing. 

3. On the night of the 2 2d of May, Colonel Meigs, of Con- 
necticut, embarked two hundred men in whale-boats, crossed 
the sound, and attacked Sag Harbor. The British were over- 
powered ; only four of them escaped ; five or six were killed, 
and the remaining ninety were made prisoners. The stores 
were destroyed by the patriots, who, without the loss of a man, 




(171) 



172 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



returned to Guilford. Colonel Meigs was rewarded by Con- 
gress with an elegant sword. 

4. The patriot forces of the North were now concentrated 
on the Hudson ; and a camp, under Arnold, was laid out on 
the Delaware. In the latter part of May, Washington broke 
up his winter-quarters and took an advantageous position only 
ten miles from the British camp. Howe crossed over from 
New York and threatened an attack upon the American lines. 
Finally, the British, on the 30th of June, crossed over to Staten 
Island. On the 10th of July, General Prescott, of the British 
army, was captured at a farm-house near Newport. This gave 
the Americans an officer of equal rank to exchange for General 
Lee. Congress in the mean time returned to Philadelphia. 

5. From the beginning of the war the 

people of France had been friendly to the 
and Sympathy. r ' . J 

American cause. By and by their sympathy 

became more outspoken. The French ministers w r ould do 
nothing openly to provoke a war with Great Britain ; but 
secretly they rejoiced at every British misfortune. During the 
year 1777, the French managed to supply the colonies with 
twenty thousand muskets and a thousand barrels of powder. 

6. At last the republicans of France began to embark for 
America. Foremost of all came the young Marquis de La 
Fayette. Fitting a vessel at his own expense, he eluded 
the officers, and with the brave De Kalb and a small company 
of followers reached South Carolina in April of 1777. He en- 
tered the army as a volunteer, and in the following July was 
commissioned a major-general. 

7. One of the most important events of 
Burgoynes ^ e war was campaign of General Bur- 
Campaign. 1 

goyne. In command of the English forces 

in Canada, he spent the spring of 1777 in organizing an 
army of ten thousand men for the invasion of New York. The 
force consisted of British, Hessians, Canadians, and Indians. 
The plan of the campaign embraced a descent upon Albany 



OPERATIONS OF 1777. 



173 



and New York, and the cutting off of New England from the 
Middle and Southern colonies 

8. On the ist of June, 
Burgoyne reached Lake 
Champlain, and on the 
1 6th proceeded to Crown 
Point. This place was 
occupied by the British ; 
and on the 5th of July, 
Ticonderoga, which was 
defended by three thou- 
sand men under General 
St. Clair, was captured. 
Soon afterward the Brit- 
ish reached Whitehall 
and seized a large quan- 
tity of stores. 

9. At this time the 
American army of the 
North was commanded 
by General Schuyler. His 
forces, numbering between four and five thousand, were at Fort 
Edward. This place was captured by Burgoyne on the 30th of 
July, the Americans retreating down the Hud- 
son. The British general now dispatched Col- 
onels Baum and Breymann to seize the stores 
at Bennington, Vermont. Colonel John Stark rallied the New 
Hampshire militia, and on the 15th of August met the British 
near the village. On the following morning there was a furious 
battle, in which Baum's force was completely routed. The 
British lost in killed, wounded, and prisoners more than eight 
hundred men. The country was thrilled by the victory. 

10. A few days after the battle of Bennington, Burgoyne re- 
ceived intelligence of a still greater reverse, at Fort Schuyler, 
on the Mohawk. 




fjf-/ 

Marquis de La Fayette. 



Battle of 
Bennington. 



174 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



ii. The British general lost a month in procuring sup- 
plies from Canada. He , now found himself hemmed in 
by nine thousand patriot soldiers. 
General Lincoln arrived with the 
militia of New England. Wash- 
ington sent several detachments from 
the regular army. Morgan came 
with his riflemen. General Gates 
superseded Schuyler in command of 
the northern army. On the 8th of 
September, the American headquar- 
ters were advanced to Stillwater. 
On the 14th of the month, Burgoyne 
crossed the Hudson and took post 
at Saratoga. The two armies now 
came face to face. On the 19th, 
a general battle ensued, continuing 
until nightfall. The conflict, though 
severe, was indecisive; the Ameri- 
cans retired within their lines, and 
the British slept on the field. To 
the patriots the result of the battle 
was equivalent to a victory. 

12. The condition of Burgoyne 
grew critical. His supplies failed ; 
his Canadian and Indian allies deserted his standard. On 
the 7th of October, he hazarded another battle, in which 
he lost his bravest officers and nearly 
seven hundred privates. The brave General 
Fraser was killed, and his disheartened men 
turned and fled from the field. The Americans were completely 
victorious. 

13. Burgoyne now began a retreat, and on the 9th of 
October reached Saratoga. Here he was intercepted by 
Gates and Lincoln, and forced to surrender. On the 17th 




Battle of 
Bemis's Heights. 



OPERATIONS OF 1 777. 



175 



Burgoyne's 
Surrender. 



of October terms of capitulation were agreed on, and the 
whole army, numbering five thousand seven hundred and 
ninety-one, became prisoners of war. Among the captives 
were six members of the British Parliament. Forty-two pieces 
of brass artillery, five thousand muskets, and 
an immense quantity of stores were the fruits 
of the victory. 

14. As soon as the invasion was at an end, a large portion 
of the army was dispatched to aid Washington in a great cam- 
paign in progress in the South. On the 23d of July, Howe had 
sailed from New York, 

with eighteen thousand 
men, to attack Philadel- 
phia. Washington ad- 
vanced his headquarters 
from Philadelphia to Wil- 
mington. The American 
army, numbering about 
eleven thousand men, was 
concentrated at that place. 
The forces of Howe were 
vastly superior, but Wash- 
ington hoped to beat back 
the invaders and save the 
capital. 

15. On the 25th of 

August the British landed at Elk River, in Maryland, and began 
their march toward Philadelphia. Washington selected the 
Brandywine as his line of defence. The left wing was stationed 
at Chad's Ford, while the right, under Gen- 
eral Sullivan, was extended up the river. On 
the nth of September the British reached the 
opposite bank and began battle. The Hessians, under Knyp- 
hausen, attacked at the ford; but the British, led by Corn- 
wallis and Howe, marched up the Brandywine and crossed 




?H \LADELPH//i 

AND 

vicinity. 



Battle of 
Brandywine. 



176 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



above the American right. Sullivan allowed himself to be 
outflanked. Washington was misled by false information; the 
right wing was crushed by Cornwallis, and the day was lost. 

16. During the night the patriots retreated to West Chester. 
The loss of the Americans amounted to a thousand men ; that 
of the British to five hundred and eighty-four. La Fayette 

was severely wounded. Count Pulaski so dis- 

• ^ e i B I it , iS , h tinguished himself in this engagement that 
m Philadelphia. to . 

Congress honored him with the rank of briga- 
dier. Washington continued his retreat as far as Germantown. 
On the 15th of the month he recrossed the Schuylkill and met 
Howe at Warren's Tavern. But just as the conflict was be- 
ginning, a violent tempest swept over the field. The comba- 
tants were deluged, their cartridges soaked, and fighting made 
impossible. Howe succeeded in crossing the Schuylkill, and 
hastened to Philadelphia. On the 26th of September the city 
was taken, and the main division of the British army encamped 
at Germantown. 

17. Congress adjourned, first to Lancaster, and afterward to 
York, where they held their sessions until the next summer. 
On the night of the 3d of October Washington attempted to 

surprise the British at Germantown. But the 

roads were rough, and the different columns 
Germantown. & ' 

reached the British outpost at irregular inter- 
vals. There was much severe fighting, but the British gained 
possession of a large stone house and could not be dislodged. 
The tide turned against the patriots, and the day was lost. On 
the 2 2d of October, Fort Mercer, on the Delaware, was taken 
by Hessians, while the British fleet took Fort Mifflin, on Mud 
Island. General Howe thus obtained control of the Delaware. 

18. After the battle of Germantown, Washington took up 
his headquarters at White Marsh. The patriots began to suffer 
for food and clothing. On the evening of the 2d of Decem- 
ber, Howe held a council of war at the house of Lydia Darrah 
in Philadelphia. It was decided to surprise Washington in his 



OPERATIONS OF 1 777. 



177 




Valley Forge. 



camp. But Lydia, who overheard the plans of Howe, left the 

city on pretence of going to mill, rode to the American lines, 

and gave the alarm. When the British approached White 

Marsh, they found the cannons mounted and the patriots in 

order of battle. The British general maneuvered for four days, 

and then marched back to Philadelphia. 

iq. On the nth of December Washington 

. Valley 
went into winter quarters at Valley Forge, on Forge 

the right bank of the Schuylkill. Thousands 

of the soldiers were without shoes, and the frozen ground was 

marked w r ith bloody footprints. Log cabins were built, and 

everything was done that could be done to secure the comfort 

of the suffering patriots. But it was a long and dreary winter. 

These were the darkest days of Washington's life. Congress 

in a measure abandoned him. Many men high in military 

and civil station left the great leader unsupported. But the 

allegiance of the army remained unshaken, and the nation's 

confidence in the chieftain became stronger than ever, 

12.— U. S. Hist, 



CHAPTER XXV. 



Events of 1778 and 1779. 

IN November of 1776 Silas Deane, of Connecticut, was ap- 
pointed commissioner to France. His first service was to 
make a secret arrangement to supply the Americans with mate- 
rials for carrying on the war. In the autumn of 1777 a ship, 
laden Avith two hundred thousand dollars' worth of arms, ammu- 
nition, and specie, was sent to America. 

2. Arthur Lee and Benjamin Franklin were 

wi^France 8 a ^ S0 a PP omte ^ by Congress to negotiate a 
treaty with the French king. In December 
of 1776 they reached Paris and began their duties. For a 
long time King Louis and his minister stood aloof from 
the proposed alliance. They hated Great Britain, and gave 
secret encouragement to the colonies ; but an open treaty with 
the Americans was equivalent to a war with England, and that 
the French court dreaded. 

3. Now it was, that the genius of Dr. Franklin shone with a 
peculiar luster. At the gay court of Louis XVI. he stood as 
the representative of his country. His wit and genial humor 
made him admired ; his talents and courtesy commanded re- 
spect; his patience and perseverance gave him final success. 
During the whole of 1777 he remained at Paris and Versailles. 
At last came the news of Burgoyne's surrender. A powerful 
British army had been subdued by the colonists without aid 
from abroad. This success induced the king to accept the 
proposed alliance with the colonies. On the 6th of February, 
1778, a treaty was concluded; France acknowledged the inde- 
pendence of the United States, and entered into relations of 
friendship with the new nation. 
(178) 



EVENTS OF 1778 AND 1 779. 



179 



Benjamin 
Franklin. 



4. Benjamin Franklin, the author of 
the first treaty between the United States 
and a foreign nation, was born in Bos- 
ton, on the 17th of January, 1706. His father was a 
manufacturer of soap and candles. At the age of twelve, 
Benjamin was appren- 
ticed to his brother 
to learn the art of 
printing. In 1723 he 
went to Philadelphia, 
entered a printing-office, 
and rose to distinc- 
tion. He visited Eng- 
land; returned; found- 
ed the first circulating 
library in America ; 
edited Poor Richard's 
Almanac ; discovered 
the identity of electric- 
ity and lightning; es- 
poused the patriot 
cause ; and devoted his 
old age to perfecting 
the American Union. 




Benjamin Franklin. 



D'Estaing's 
French Fleet. 



The name of Franklin is one of the brightest in history. 

5. In May of 1778 Congress ratified the 
treaty with France. A month previously 
a French fleet, under Count d'Estaing, had 
been sent to America. Both France and Great Britain im- 
mediately prepared for war. George III. now became will- 
ing to treat with his American subjects. Lord North brought 
forward two bills in which everything the colonists had 
claimed was conceded. The bills were passed by Parliament, 
and the king assented. Commissioners were sent to America; 
but Congress informed them that nothing but an acknowledg- 



i8o 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



ment of the independence of the United States would now be 
accepted. 

6. The British army remained at Philadelphia until June of 
1778. The fleet of Admiral Howe lay in the Delaware. When 
the rumor came that the fleet of D'Estaing was approaching, 

the English admiral set sail for New York. 

British Evacuate ^ ~ T ^ ~r> ^ 

M , , , . On the 1 8th of [une the British army evacu- 
Philadelphia. . J J 

ated Philadelphia and retreated across New 
Jersey. Washington occupied the city, and followed the re- 
treating foe. At Monmouth the British were overtaken. 
On the morning of the 28th General Lee was ordered to at- 
tack the enemy. The American cavalry under La Fayette was 
driven back by Gornwallis. Lee ordered his line to retire to a 
stronger position; but the troops mistook the order and began 
a retreat. Washington met the fugitives and administered a 
severe rebuke to Lee. The fight continued until nightfall, and 
Washington anxiously waited for the morning. During the 
night, however, Clinton withdrew his forces and escaped. 

7. The loss of the Americans was two 

Washington hundred and twenty-seven. The British left 
and Lee. J 

nearly three hundred dead on the field. 

On the day after the battle Washington received an insulting 
letter from Lee demanding an apology. Washington re- 
plied that his language had been warranted by the circum- 
stances. Lee answered in a still more offensive manner, and 
was thereupon arrested, tried by a court-martial, and dismissed 
from his command for twelve months. He never reentered 
the service, and did not live to see his country's independence. 
The British forces were now concentrated at New York. Wash- 
ington took up his headquarters at White Plains. D'Estaing 
repaired to Boston. Howe returned to New York. 

8. The command of the British naval forces was now trans- 
ferred to Admiral Byron. Early in October a band of incen- 
diaries, led by Colonel Ferguson, burned the American ships 
at Little Egg Harbor. In the preceding July, Major John 



EVENTS OF 1778 AND 1779. 



Butler, in command of sixteen hundred royalists, Canadians, 
and Indians, marched into the valley of Wyoming, Pennsyl- 
vania. The settlement was defenceless. On 
. 1 -i p . 1 • j r Massacre of 

the approach of the tones and savages, a few Wyoming 

militia, old men, and boys, rallied to protect 
their homes. A battle was fought, and the patriots were routed. 
The fugitives fled to a fort, which was crowded with women 
and children. Honorable terms were promised by Butler, 
and the garrison capitulated. On the 5th of July the gates 
were opened and the barbarians entered. Immediately they 
began to plunder and butcher. Nearly all the prisoners fell 
under the hatchet and the scalping-knife. 

9. In November there was a similar mas- 
sacre at Cherry Valley, New York. The in- Cnerr^Valley 
vaders were led by Joseph Brandt, chief of 

the Mohawks, and Walter Butler, a son of Major John Butler. 
The people of Cherry Valley were driven from their homes ; 
women and children were tomahawked and scalped ; and forty 
pnsoners dragged into captivity. To avenge these outrages, 
an expedition was sent against the savages on the Susque- 
hanna ; and they were made to feel the terrors of war. 

10. In the spring of 1778, Major George 

Rogers Clark, who three years previously had George Rogers 
descended the Ohio River with a single com- 
panion, from Pittburgh to the Falls of the Ohio, organized 
an expedition against the British posts on the Wabash and 
Mississippi rivers. All the country northwest of the river Ohio 
was at this time under British authority, but the scattered white 
inhabitants were nearly all French. The most important post 
was the town of Vincennes, in what was afterwards the Ter- 
ritory of Indiana. Major Clark gathered his forces on Corn 
Island, in the Ohio, between the present cities of Louisville 
and JefTersonville. The regiment was made up of backwoods 
militiamen and hunters from Kentucky and the Upper Ohio 
Valley. 



l82 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



ii. Major Clark first descended the Ohio to a suitable 
point, and landed in what was afterwards the Territory of Illi- 
nois. From this point 
he marched across 
the country to the 
mouth of the Kas- 
kaskia River, where, 
on the 4th of July, 
1778, he surprised and 





Attack on Vincennes. 



captured the town of Kaskaskia from the British. Here he 
divided his forces, and sent one division against the British post 



EVENTS OF 1778 AND 1 779. 



of Cahokia, opposite St. Louis. This place also was surprised 
and taken. Soon afterwards the French inhabitants of Vin- 
cennes rose against the British garrison, and took possession 
of the town. But Governor Hamilton, of Detroit, came down 
later in the year, and the British authority was restored. 

12. Hearing of this event, Major Clark collected his forces 

at Kaskaskia, and in the beginning of 1779 marched against 

Vincennes. At the same time he sent part of his forces by 

water, bearing a few small cannon in a boat 

around by the Ohio and up the Wabash, to a Capture of 

J 1 Vincennes. 

point below Vincennes. At this time the 

lower Illinois country was covered with water, and Major 
Clark's campaign was attended with the greatest hardships. 
On the 1 8th of February, however, he gained a position on the 
Indiana side of the Wabash, and made an attack on Vincennes. 
By skillful maneuvering he deceived the British commander, 
and on the 24th of the month compelled him to surrender. 
Thus was the great territory northwest of the River Ohio re- 
covered from the British, and secured for the United States. 

13. On the 3d of November, Count d'Es- 

taing's fleet sailed for the West Indies. In 

Savannah. 

December, Admiral Byron left New York 
to try the fortunes of war on the ocean. Colonel Campbell, 
with two thousand men, was sent by General Clinton for 
the conquest of Georgia. On the 29th of December the ex- 
pedition reached Savannah. The place was defended by 
General Robert Howe with eight hundred men. A battle was 
fought, and the Americans were driven out of the city. The 
patriots crossed into South Carolina and found refuge at 
Charleston. Such was the only real conquest made by the 
British during the year 1778. 

14. The winter of 1778-79 was passed by the American army 
at Middlebrook. There was much discouragement among the 
soldiers, for they were neither paid nor fed. But the influence 
of Washington prevented a mutiny. In the latter part of May 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Clinton sailed with an armament up the Hudson to Stony 
Point. The garrison, unable- to resist, escaped from the forti- 
fications. 

15. On the 15th of July General Wayne 

General Wayne marc h e d against Stony Point. In the even- 
at Stony Point. , & 3 

mg he halted near the fort and gave 

his orders. The British pickets were caught and gagged. 
Everything was done in silence. Muskets were unloaded and 
bayonets fixed ; not a gun was to be fired. The assault was 
made a little after midnight. The patriots never wavered in 
the charge. The ramparts were scaled ; and the British, find- 
ing themselves between two lines of bayonets, cried out for 
quarter. Sixty-three of the enemy fell ; the remaining five hun- 
dred and forty-three were made prisoners. Of the Americans 
only fifteen were killed and eighty-three wounded. General 
Wayne secured the ordnance and stores, and then destroyed 
the fort. 

16. In the summer of 1799, four thou- 
Campaign against • , -, n , , ^ , 

, J * sand six hundred men, led by Generals 

the Indians. - . J 

Sullivan and James Clinton, were sent 

against the Indians on the Susquehanna. At Elmira the 
savages and tories had fortified themselves; but on the 29th 
of August they were forced from their stronghold and utterly 
routed. The country between the Susquehanna and the Gene- 
see was wasted by the patriots. Forty Indian villages were 
destroyed. 

17. A little later, the tories, who were 
C ^eSo^h in advancing to join the British at Augusta, 

were defeated by the patriots under Captain 
Anderson. On the 14th of February they were again over- 
taken and routed by Colonel Pickens. Colonel Boyd, the 
tory leader, and seventy of his men were killed. Seventy-five 
others were captured, and. five of the ringleaders hanged. 
The western half of Georgia was quickly recovered by the 
patriots. 



EVENTS OF 1778 AND 1 779. 



18. General Ashe was sent with two thousand men to inter- 
cept the enemy. On the 25th of February the Americans 
crossed the Savannah, and pursued Campbell as far as Brier 
Creek. Here the patriots came to a halt; and General Prevost, 
marching from Savannah, surrounded Ashe's command. A 
battle was fought on the 3d of March; the Americans were 
totally routed and driven into the swamps. By this defeat 
Georgia was again prostrated, and a royal government was 
established over the State. 

19. Within a month General Lincoln was again in the field 
with five thousand men. He advanced up the left bank of the 
river in the direction of Augusta ; but, at the same time, Gen- 
eral Prevost, now commanding the British forces in the South, 
crossed the Savannah and marched against Charleston. Gen- 
eral Lincoln turned back to attack him, and the British made a 
hasty retreat. The Americans overtook the enemy at Stono 
Ferry, ten miles west of Charleston, but were repulsed with 
considerable loss. Prevost then fell back to Savannah. 

20. In September, Count d'Estaing arrived 

, r , u - n . -r, , Attempts to retake 

before Savannah with his fleet. Prevost con- „ r 

Savannah. 

centrated his forces for the defence ol the 
city. The French effected a landing, and advanced to the 
siege. D'Estaing demanded a surrender ; but Prevost answered 
with a message of defiance. The siege was pressed with vigor, 
and the city constantly bombarded. But the defences re- 
mained unshaken. At last D'Estaing notified Lincoln that 
the city must be stormed. Before sunrise on the 9th of 
October the allies advanced with great vehemence against the 
redoubts of the British, but were driven back with fearful losses. 
Count Pulaski was struck with a grape-shot, and was borne 
dying from the field. D'Estaing retired on board the fleet, and 
Lincoln retreated to Charleston. 

21. On the 23d of September, Paul Jones, cruising off the 
coast of Scotland with a fleet of French and American vessels, 
fell in with a British squadron, and a bloody battle ensued. 



i86 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



The Serapis, a British frigate of forty-four guns, engaged the 
Poor Richard within musket-shot. At last the vessels were 
lashed together, and the Serapis struck her colors. Jones 

transferred his men to the 
conquered ship, and the Poor 
Richard went down. Of the 
three hundred and seventy- 
five men on board the fleet 
of Jones, three hundred were 
either killed or wounded. 

22. So closed the year 
1779. The national treasury 
was bankrupt. * The patriots 
of the army were poorly fed, 
and paid only with unkept 
promises. The disposition 
of Great Britain was still for 
war. The levies of sailors 
and soldiers made by Par- 
liament amounted to one hundred and twenty thousand, while 
the expenses of the War Office were set at twenty million 
pounds sterling. 




Paul Jones. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 



Reverses and Treason. Events of 1780. 

DURING the year 1780 military opera- 
tions at the North were suspended. . ^f 16 ? 1 ^ eS , 

r m Rhode Island. 
Early m July Admiral De Ternay arrived 

at Newport with a French squadron, and six thousand land- 
troops under Count Rochambeau. In September the com- 
mander-in-chief held a conference with Rochambeau, and the 
plans of future campaigns were determined. 

2. In the South the patriots suffered many reverses. South 
Carolina was completely overrun by the enemy. On the nth 
of February, Admiral Arbuthnot anchored before Charleston. 
Sir Henry Clinton and five thousand men were on board the 
fleet. The city was defended by fourteen hundred men under 
General Lincoln. The British effected a landing, and ad- 
vanced up the right bank of Ashley River. On the 7th of 
April Lincoln was reinforced by seven hundred Virginians. 
Two days afterwards Arbuthnot succeeded in passing Fort 
Moultrie, and came within cannon-shot of the city. 

3. A siege was at once begun, and pros- 

\ , .IT • "[—I U V ' • *1 BritiSh 

ecuted with vigor. From the beginning the take Charleston 
defense was hopeless. The fortifications 
were beaten down, and Lincoln, dreading an assault, 
agreed to capitulate. On the 12th of May, Charleston was 
surrendered to the British, and the garrison became prisoners 
of war. A few days before the surrender Tarleton surprised 
and dispersed a body of militia on the Santee. Afterwards 
three successful expeditions were sent into different sections of 
the State. 

(187) 



i88 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



4. The authority of- Great Britain was reestablished over 
South Carolina. Clinton and Arbuthnot returned to New 
York, and Cornwallis was left to hold the conquered territory. 
In this condition of affairs, Thomas Sumter and Francis Marion 
appeared as the protectors of the State. They rallied the mili- 
tia and began an audacious partisan warfare. Detachments of 
the British were swept off as though an enemy had fallen on 
them from the skies. It was here that young Andrew Jackson, 
then but thirteen years of age, began his career as a soldier. 
M . , 5- Marion's company consisted of twenty 

BaggecTto^Lent men and b ° yS? white and bkck ' half dad 
and poorly armed. But the number in- 
creased, and the "Ragged Regiment" soon became a ter- 
ror to the enemy. There was no telling when or where the 
sword of the fearless leader would fall. During the summer 
and autumn of 1780 he swept around Cornwallis's positions, 
making incessant onsets. 

6. General Gates now advanced into the Carolinas. Lord 
Rawdon concentrated his forces at Camden. Hither came 
Cornwallis wiih reinforcements. The Americans took post at 
Clermont. Cornwallis and Gates each formed the design of 
surprising the other in the night. On the evening of the 15th 
of August they both moved from their camps and met midway 
on Sander's Creek. After a severe battle the Americans were 
completely defeated with a loss of more than a thousand men. 
Baron De Kalb was mortally wounded. The reputation of 
Gates was blown away like chaff, and he was superseded by 
General Greene. 

7. A few days after the battle, Sumter's 
Affairs in . , , , , 

North Carolina cor P s was overtaken and completely routed. 

Only Marion remained to harass the enemy. 
In September the British advanced into North Carolina as 
far as Charlotte. Colonel Ferguson, with eleven hundred 
regulars and tories, was sent into the country west of the 
Catawba to encourage the royalists. On the 7th of October, 



REVERSES AND TREASON. EVENTS OF 1780. 189 
I 




Continental 
Paper Money. 



while he and his men were encamped on King's Mountain, 
they were attacked by a thousand riflemen led by Colonel 
Campbell. A desperate battle ensued ; Ferguson was slain, 
and three hundred of his men were killed or wounded. 
The remaining eight hundred threw down their arms and 
begged for quarter. Ten of the leading tory prisoners were 
condemned by a court-martial and hanged. 

8. Meanwhile, the credit of the nation 
was sinking to the lowest ebb. Congress 
resorted to paper money. At first the con- 
tinental bills were received at par; but the value of the 
notes rapidly diminished, until, by the middle of 1780, they 
were not worth two cents to the dollar. Business was para- 
lyzed for the want of a currency ; but Robert Morris and a few 
other wealthy patriots came forward with their private fortunes 
and saved the colonies from ruin. The mothers of America 
also lent a helping hand; and the patriot soldiers were supplied 
with food and clothing. 

9. In the midst of the gloom, the country was shocked by 



190 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

the news that Benedict Arnold had turned traitor. After the 
battle of Bemis's Heights, in the fall of 1777, he had been pro- 
moted to the rank of major-general, and made commandant of 
Philadelphia. Here he married the daughter of a royalist, and 
entered upon a career of extravagance which overwhelmed him 
with debt. He then began a system of frauds on the commis- 
sary department of the army. Charges were preferred against 
him by Congress, and he was convicted by a court-martial. 

10. Seeming to forget this disgrace, Arnold 

Treason of obtained command of the fortress of West 
Benedict Arnold. 

Point, on the Hudson. On the last day of 
July, 1780, he assumed control of the arsenal and depot of 
stores at that place. He then entered into a secret corre- 
spondence with Sir Henry Clinton, and finally offered to betray 
his country. It was agreed that the British fleet should ascend 
the Hudson, and that the garrison and fortress should be given 
up without a struggle. 

11. On the 21st of September, Clinton sent Major John 
Andre to make arrangements for the surrender. Andre, who 
was adjutant-general of the British army, went ashore from the 
Vulture about midnight, and met Arnold in a thicket. Day- 
dawn approached, and the conspirators entered the American 
lines. Andre, disguising himself, assumed the character of a spy. 

12. During the next day the business was 

Capture completed. Arnold agreed to surrender 
Major Andre. r fe 

West Point for ten thousand pounds and 

a commission as brigadier in the British army. Andre re- 
ceived papers containing a description of West Point, its 
defences, and the best method of attack. During that day an 
American battery drove the Vulture down the river, and An- 
dre was obliged to cross to the other .side and return by land. 
He passed the American outposts in safety ; but at Tarrytown 
he was confronted by three militiamen # who stripped him, 



* John Paulding, David Williams and Isaac van Wart. Congress afterwards 
rewarded them with silver medals and pensions for life. 



REVERSES AND TREASON. EVENTS OF 1780. 191 




Capture of Andre. 



hearing the news, escaped on board the Vulture, Andre was 
tried by a court-martial at Tappan, and condemned to death. 
On the 2d of October he was led to the gallows, and, under 
the stern code of war, was hanged. 

13. For several years Holland had favored the Americans; 
now she began negotiations for a treaty similar to that between 
France and the United States. Great Britain discovered the 
purposes of the Dutch government, and remonstrated. On the 
20th of December an open declaration of war was made. Thus 
the Netherlands were added to the enemies of England. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 



Events of 1781. 

FOR 'the Americans the year 1781 opened 
gloomily. The condition of the army was 
continental Army. ° J J 

desperate — no food, no pay, no clothing. 
On the first day of January, the whole Pennsylvania line 
mutinied and marched on Philadelphia. At Princeton they 
were met by emissaries from Sir Henry Clinton, and were 
tempted with offers of money and clothing if they would de- 
sert the American standard. The patriots answered by seiz- 
ing the British agents and delivering them to General Wayne 
to be hanged. The commissioners of Congress offered the in- 
surgents a large reward, which was refused ; and a few liberal 
concessions on the part of the government quieted the mutiny. 

2. About the middle of the month the New Jersey brigade 
revolted. This movement Washington quelled by force. Gen- 
eral Howe marched to the camp with five hundred regulars 
and compelled the mutineers to execute their own leaders. 
From that day order was restored. Congress was thoroughly 
alarmed. An agent was sent to France to obtain a loan of 
money. Robert Morris was appointed secretary of finance; 
and the Bank of North America was organized to aid the 
government. 

3. On arriving at New York, Arnold re- 
Traitor Arnold in , , . . • • • • ,^ 
^ t» i» a ceived his commission as bngadier m the 
the British Army. 

British army. In January the traitor be- 
gan war on his countrymen. His proceedings were marked 
with much ferocity. In the vicinity of Richmond a vast 
quantity of property was destroyed. Arnold then took up his 
headquarters in Portsmouth ; and Washington, for the second 
(192) 



EVENTS OF 1 78 1. 



J 93 




General Greene. 



time, planned his capture. The French fleet was ordered to 
cooperate with La Fayette in the attempt. But Admiral 
Arbuthnot drove the French 
squadron back to Rhode Is- 
land. La Fayette abandoned 
the undertaking, and Arnold 
again escaped. 

4. In April, General Phil- 
lips arrived at Portsmouth 
and assumed command of the 
army. In May Phillips died, 
and for seven days Arnold 
held the supreme command 
of the British forces in Vir- 
ginia. On the 20th of the 
month Lord Cornwallis ar- 
rived and ordered him to 
be gone. Returning to New 
York he made an expedition 
native State. • Fort Griswold, which was defended by Colonel 
Ledyard, was carried by storm. When Ledyard surrendered, 
seventy-three of the garrison were murdered in cold blood. 

5. General Greene was now in com- 
mand of the American army at Charlotte, 
North Carolina. Early in January, Gen- 
eral Morgan was sent into South Carolina to repress the tories. 
Colonel Tarleton followed with his cavalry. The Americans 
took a position at the Cowpens, where, on the 17th of January, 
they were attacked by the British. Tarleton made the onset 
with impetuosity ; but Morgan's men bravely held their ground. 
At last the American cavalry, under Colonel William Washing- 
ton, made a charge and scattered the British dragoons like 
chaff. Ten British officers and ninety privates were killed. 

6. When Cornwallis heard of the battle he marched up the 
river to cut off Morgan's retreat. But Greene hastened to the 

13.— U. S. Hist. 



against New London, in his 



Battle at 
Cowpens. 



194 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Morgan's camp and took command in person. On the 28th 
of January, the Americans reached the Catawba and crossed 
to the northern bank. Within two hours the British arrived at 
the ford. During the night the rain poured down in torrents ; 
the river was swollen to a flood ; and it was many days before 
the British could cross. Then began a race for the Yadkin. 

7. The distance was sixty miles. In two 

• J! Ann * es days the Americans reached the river. The 
in North Carolina. J . 

crossing was nearly effected when the British 

appeared in sight. That night the Yadkin was made im- 
passable by rains, and Cornwallis was again delayed. On 
the 9th of February the British succeeded in crossing. The 
lines of retreat and pursuit were now nearly parallel. A third 
time the race began, and again the Americans won it. On the 
13th Greene, with the main division, crossed the Dan into 
Virginia, and on the 2 2d of February returned into North 
Carolina. 

8. Greene's army now numbered more 
Battle of Guilford ,1 r ^ , . • • 

~ than lour thousand men. Determining to 

Courthouse. . 

avoid battle no longer, he marched to Guil- 
ford Courthouse. Cornwallis moved forward to the attack. 
On the 15th of March the two armies met, and a severe but 
indecisive battle was fought. The Americans were driven back 
for several miles; but in killed and wounded the British loss 
was greatest. 

9. Early in April, Cornwallis retreated to Wilmington, and 
then proceeded to Virginia. The British forces in the Carolinas 
remained under Lord Rawdon. On the 10th of May, Lord 
Rawdon retired to Eutaw Springs. The British posts at 
Orangeburg and Augusta fell into the hands of the patriots. 
General Greene passed the sickly months of summer in the 
hill country of the Santee. 

10. Sumter, Lee, and Marion were constantly abroad, smit- 
ing the tories right and left. Lord Rawdon 'now went to 
Charleston and became a principal actor in one of the most 



EVENTS OF 1781. 



J 95 



shameful scenes of the Revolution. Colonel Isaac Hayne, a 
patriot who had once taken an oath of allegiance to the king, 
was caught in command of a troop of American cavalry. He 
was arraigned before Colonel Balfour, the commandant of 
Charleston, and condemned to death. Rawdon gave his 
sanction, and Colonel Hayne was hanged. 

11. On the 2 2d of August, General Greene 

marched toward Orangeburg. The British _ , _ . 

Eutaw Springs, 

retired to Eutaw Springs. There the Ameri- 
cans overtook them on the 8th of September. One of the 
fiercest battles of the war ensued, and General Greene was 
denied a decisive victory only by the bad conduct of some 
of his troops. After losing five hundred and fifty-five men, he 
gave up the struggle. The British lost in killed and wounded 
nearly seven hundred. Stuart retreated to Monk's Corner; 
Greene followed ; and after two months of maneuvering, the 
British were driven into Charleston. In the whole South 
only Charleston and Savannah were now held by the king's 
army; the latter city was evacuated on the nth of July, and 
the former on the 14th of December, 1782. Such was the 
close of the Revolution in the Carolinas and Georgia. 

12. In the beginning of May, 1781, Corn- 

wallis took command of the British army °™ wa . s m 

. . . Virginia, 
m Virginia. The country was ravaged, and 

property destroyed to the value of fifteen million dol- 
lars. La Fayette, to whom the defence of the State had 
been intrusted, was unable to meet Cornwallis in the field. 
While the British were near Richmond, a detachment under 
Tarleton proceeded to Charlottesville, and captured the town 
and seven members of the legislature. Governor Jefferson 
escaped into the mountains. The British marched to Ports- 
mouth; but early in August the army was conveyed to York- 
town, on the southern bank of York River. 

13. La Fayette followed and took post eight miles from the 
British. During July and August, Washington, from his camp 



196 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



on the Hudson, looked wistfully to the South. Clinton was 
kept in alarm by false dispatches, indicating that the Ameri- 
cans would immediately besiege New York. When Clinton 
was informed that Washington was marching 

Cornwallis toward Virginia, he would not believe it. 

Yorktown 11 Washington pressed rapidly forward, and 
joined La Fayette at Williamsburg. On the 
30th of August, a French fleet, with four thousand troops on 
board, reached the Chesapeake and anchored in the mouth 
of York River. Cornwallis was blockaded by sea and land. 

14. Count de Barras, who commanded the French flotilla at 
Newport, also arrived. On the 5th of September, Admiral 
Graves appeared in the bay, and a naval battle ensued, in 
which the British ships were roughly handled. On the 28th, 
the allied armies encamped around Yorktown and began their 

intrenchments. On the night of the 14th, 
Surrender of , , , , • , 

the enemy s outer works were carried by 
Cornwallis. J . . 

storm. On the 16th the British made a 

sortie, but were repulsed. The next day Cornwallis pro- 
posed a surrender; on the 18th terms of capitulation were 
signed; and on the afternoon of the 19th the whole British 
army, consisting of seven thousand two hundred and forty- 
seven English and Hessian soldiers, laid down their arms and 
became prisoners of war. This event virtually terminated the 
war of the Revolution. 

15. On the evening of the 23d the news 

^ Victory 116 waS ^ orne to Congress. On the morning of 
the 24th, the members went in concourse with 
the citizens to the Dutch Lutheran church, and turned the after- 
noon into a thanksgiving. The note of rejoicing sounded 
throughout the land. In England the king and his ministers 
heard the tidings with rage; but the English people were 
secretly pleased. On the 20th of March, 1782, Lord North 
and his friends resigned their oflices. A new ministry was 
formed, favorable to peace. The command of the British 



EVENTS OF 1781. 



197 




Surrender of Cornwallis. 



forces in the United States was transferred to Sir Guy Carle- 
ton, a man friendly to American interests. 

16. In the summer of 1782, Richard Oswald was sent by 
Parliament to Paris, to confer with Franklin and Jay in regard 
to the terms of peace. John Adams and Henry Laurens also 
entered into the negotiations. On the 30th of November 
preliminary articles of peace were signed ; and in the following 
April the terms were ratified by Congress. On the 3d of Sep- 
tember, 1783, a final treaty was effected between all the nations 
that had been at war. 

17. The terms of the Treaty of 1783 

, a 1 c 4.1, Treaty of 

were these: A complete recognition of the peace 

independence of the United States; the 

cession by Great Britain of Florida to Spain; the surrender * 

of the remaining territory east of the Mississippi to the United 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



States; the free navigation of the Mississippi and the lakes; 
and the retention by Great Britain of Canada and Nova 
Scotia. 

1 8. Early in August Sir Guy Carleton received instructions 
to evacuate New York City. By the 25th of November every- 
thing was in readiness ; the British army was embarked ; the 
sails were spread ; the ships stood out to sea and disappeared. 
The Briton was gone. After the struggles of an eight years' 
war the patriots had achieved their independence. 

19. On the 4th of December Washing- 

Washington's tQn assembled his officers t0 bid them a 

Farewell to r TTT1 . , . 

the Army adieu. When they were met, he spoke 

a few affectionate words to his comrades, who 
came forward, and with tears and sobs bade him farewell. 
Washington then departed to Annapolis, where Congress 
was in session. At Philadelphia he made a report of his 
expenses during the war. The account, in his own hand- 
writing, embraced an expenditure of seventy-four thousand 
four hundred and eighty-five dollars — all correct to a cent. 

20. The route of the chief to Annapolis was a continuous 
triumph. The people by thousands flocked to the roadsides 
to see him pass. On the 23d of December, Washington was 
introduced to Congress, and delivered an address full of wis- 
dom and modesty. With great dignity he surrendered his 
commission as commander-in-chief of the army. General 
Mifflin, the president of Congress, responded in an eloquent 
manner, and then the hero retired to his home at Mount 
Vernon. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 



Confederation and Union. 

DURING the progress of the Revolution 
the civil government of the United American 
° . Government. 

States was m a deplorable condition. Noth- 
ing but the peril of the country had, in the first place, led 
to the calling of a Congress. When that body assembled, 
it had no constitution nor power of efficient action. The two 
great wants of the country were money to carry on the war, and 
a central authority to direct the war. Whenever Congress 
would attempt a firmer government, the movement would be 
checked by the remonstrance of the colonies. 

2. Foremost of those who worked for better government 
was Benjamin Franklin. In 1775 he laid before Congress the 
plan of a perpetual confederation of the States. But the at- 
tention of that body was occupied with the war, and Frank- 
lin's measure received little notice. Congress, without any 
real authority, began to conduct the government, and its 
legislation was generally accepted by the States. 

3. On the nth of June, 1776, a com- 

Artie' 6 s of 

mittee was appointed by Congress to pre- Confederation . 
pare a plan of confederation. After a 
month the work was completed and laid before the house. 
The debates on the subject continued at intervals until the 15th 
of November, 1777, when a vote was taken in Congress, and 
the Articles of Confederation were adopted, which were 
then transmitted to the State legislatures for ratification. By 
them the new frame of government was returned to Congress 
with many amendments. These having been considered, the 
articles were signed by the delegates of eight States on the 9th 

(199) 



200 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



of July, 1778. Those of Georgia, North Carolina, New Jersey, 
and Delaware signed before February, of 1779. Maryland 
did not assent until March of 178 1. 

4. The government of the United States under the confed- 
eration was a loose union of independent commonwealths. 
The executive and legislative powers were vested in Con- 
gress — a body composed of not less than two nor more than 
seven representatives from each State. The sovereignty was 
reserved to the States. There was no chief magistrate and 
no general judiciary. The consent of nine States was neces- 
sary to complete an act of legislation. The union was de- 
clared to be perpetual. 

5. On the 2d of March, 1781, Congress 
Inadequacy of the , -, ^ 

n * * A - assembled under the new government. From 
Confederation. . . 

the first, its inadequacy was manifest. Con- 
gress had no real authority. The first duty was to provide 
for the payment of the war debt of thirty-eight million dollars. 
Congress recommended a general tax. Some of the States 
made the levy, others refused. Robert Morris was brought to 
poverty in a vain effort to sustain the government. 

6. In this condition of affairs, Washington advised the call- 
ing of a convention to meet at Annapolis. In September of 
1786 the representatives of five States assembled. The ques- 
tions of a tariff and a revision of the articles of confederation 
were discussed. It was finally resolved to adjourn until the 
following year. 

7. Congress invited the legislatures to appoint delegates to 
the convention. All of the States except Rhode Island re- 
sponded ; and on the second Monday in May, 

^^opOTed^ 011 x 7^7' ^ e re P resent atives assembled at Phila- 
delphia. Washington was chosen president of 
the convention. On the 29th Edmund Randolph introduced 
a resolution to adopt a new constitution. A committee was 
accordingly appointed to revise the articles of confederation. 
Early in September, the report of the committee was adopted; 



CONFEDERATION AND UNION. 



201 



and that report was the Constitution of the United 
States. 

8. On the question of adopting the Constitution the people 
were divided. Those who favored the new government were 
called Federalists ; those who opposed, Anti-Federalists. 
The leaders of the former were Washington, Jay, Madison, and 
Hamilton, the latter statesman throwing his whole energies 
into the controversy. In the papers called The Federalist he 
and Madison answered every objection of the anti-Federal 
party. To Hamilton the Republic owes a debt of gratitude 
for having established on a firm basis the true principles of 
free government. 

9. Under the Constitution the powers of 

j , ■ , 1 1 Provisions of the 
government are arranged under three heads „ . . 
& & Constitution. 
— Legislative, Executive, and Judicial. 

The legislative power is vested in Congress — composed of a 
Senate and a House of Representatives. The Senators are 
chosen, for a term of six years, by the legislatures of the several 
States. Each State is represented by two Senators. The Rep- 
resentatives are elected by the people ; and each State is entitled 
to a number of representatives proportionate to its population. 
The members of this branch are chosen for two years. 

10. The executive power of the United States is vested in a 
President, chosen for four years by the Electoral College. 
The electors composing the college are chosen by the people ; 
and each State is entitled to a number of electors equal to the 
number of its representatives and senators in Congress. The 
duty of the President is to enforce the laws of Congress in 
accordance with the Constitution. He is also commander-in- 
chief of the armies and navies. In case of the death or 
resignation of the President, the Vice-president becomes chief 
magistrate. 

11. The judicial power of the United States is vested in a 
Supreme Court and in inferior courts established by Congress. 
The highest judicial officer is the Chief-justice. The judges 



202 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



hold their offices during life or good behavior. The right of 
trial by jury is granted in all cases except the impeachment 
of public officers. Treason against the United States consists 
in levying war against them, or in giving aid to their enemies. 

12. The Constitution provides that new territories maybe 
organized and new States admitted into the Union; that to 
every State shall be guaranteed a republican form of govern- 
ment ; and that the Constitution may be altered or amended 
by the consent of two thirds of both houses of Congress and 
three fourths of the legislatures of the States. In accordance 
with this provision, fifteen amendments have since been made 
to the Constitution. 

13. Before the end of 1788 eleven States 
Constitution ^ ac j adopted the Constitution. The new 
Adopted. r 

government was to go into operation when 

nine States should ratify. For a while, North Carolina 
and Rhode Island hesitated. In accordance with an act of 
Congress, the first Wednesday of January, 1789, was named as 
the time for the election of a chief-magistrate. The people had 
but one voice as to the man who should be honored with 
that high trust. Early in April, the ballots of the electors were 
counted, and George Washington was unanimously chosen Pres- 
ident and John Adams Vice-president of the United States. 
On the 14th of the month, Washington received notification 
of his election, and departed for New York. His route was a 
constant triumph. With this event the era of nationality in 
the New Republic is ushered in. 



QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW AND EXAMINATION. 203 



Review Questions. — Part IV. 

CHAPTER XXI. 

1. Trace the causes, general and special, of the Revolutionary War. 

2. Give an account of the Stamp Act Congress, and of the important 
measure adopted by it. 

3. How did the movements in America affect the British king and 
parliament ? 

CHAPTER XXII. 

4. Give an account of the beginnings of war, and of the engagements 
at that time about Boston. 

5. Tell of the condition of the American forces, and of the appointment 
of a commander-in-chief. 

6. What were the relations between the American colonies arid 
Canada? 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

7. Describe the military movements of the first half of the year 1776. 

8. Who were the Hessians, and how were they brought into thi.^ war? 

9. Give an account of the preparation and adoption of the Declaration 
of Independence. 

10. Follow the military movements of the latter half of the year 1776. 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

11. What were the military movements of the early part of the year 
1777? 

12. Tell of the attitude of France toward the war, and of the coming 
over of La Fayette and his followers. 

13. Give an account of the campaigns under Burgoyne. 

14. Trace the movements in the south and along the Delaware. 

CHAPTER XXV. 

15. Give an account of the treaty with France, and of the coming over 
of the French fleet under D'Estaing. 

16. Tell the story of the massacres at Wyoming and at Cherry Valley. 

17. Outline the campaigns of 1779. 

18. What was now the condition of the Americans on the seas? 



204 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

19. Describe the military movements of 1780. 

20. Give an account of the treachery of Benedict Arnold. 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

21. Sketch the campaigns of 1 78 1. 

22. Tell of the surrender of Cornwallis and the British army. 

23. Give an account of the Treaty of Peace, and of the disbanding of 
the American army. 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

24. Tell of the government of America in the early part of the war, and 
under the Articles of Confederation. 

25. What led to the adoption of the new constitution, and what are 
some of its leading provisions ? 



Part V. 

GROWTH OF THE UNION. 

• A. D. 1789-1861. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 
Washington's Administration, i 789 — 1 797. 

(yi the 30th of April, 1789, Washington w ton , g 
\_J was inaugurated first President of the j^^^ 
United States. The ceremony was per- 
formed in New York City, on the site of the Custom-house, in 
Wall Street. Chancellor Livingston, of New York, admin- 
istered the oath of office. The streets and house-tops were 
thronged with people; flags fluttered; cannon boomed from 
the Battery. Washington retired to the Senate chamber and 
delivered his inaugural address. Congress had already been 
organized. 

2. The new government was embarrassed with many diffi- 
culties. By the treaty of 1783 the free navigation of the 
Mississippi had been guaranteed. Now the Spaniards of New 
Orleans hindered the passage of American ships. On the 
frontier the Red men were at war with the settlers. As to 
financial credit or income, the United States had none. 

3. On the 10th of September an act was 

passed by Congress instituting a depart- Cabinet 
ment of foreign affairs, a treasury depart- 
ment, and a department of war. Washington nominated 
Jefferson as Secretary of Foreign Affairs ; Knox, Secretary of 

(205) 



206 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 




Inauguration of Washington. 



War; and Hamilton, Secretary of the Treasury. A Supreme 
Court was also organized, John Jay receiving the appointment 
of first Chief-justice. Edmund Randolph was chosen Attorney- 
General. Meanwhile, the objections of North Carolina and 
Rhode Island were removed, and both States ratified the Con- 
stitution, the former in November of 1789, and the latter in 
the following May. 

4. The war debt of the United States, including the revo- 
lutionary expenses of the several States, amounted to nearly 



Washington's administration, i 789-1 797. 207 



eighty million dollars. Hamilton adopted a broad and honest 

policy. His plan proposed that the debt of the United 

States due to American citizens, as well as 

the debt of the individual States, should be 

' Policy. 

assumed by the general government, and that 

all should be fully paid. By this measure the credit of the 
country was vastly improved. Hamilton's financial schemes 
were violently opposed by Jefferson and the anti-Federal party. 
In 1 791 the Bank of the United States was established by 
an act of Congress. 

5. The question of fixing the seat of government was dis- 
cussed; and it was agreed to establish the capital for ten 
years at Philadelphia, and afterwards at some locality on the 
Potomac. The next measure was the organization of the 
territory southwest of the Ohio. On the 

4th of March, 1701, Vermont, which had w " . 
^ ' 'y ■> ' Vermont. 

been an independent territory since 1777, 
was admitted into the Union as the fourteenth State. The 
census of the United States, for 1790, showed a population of 
three million nine hundred and twenty-nine thousand. 

6. In 1790 a Avar broke out with the 

■» /t • • t j ■ . , . Indian Troubles in 

Miami Indians. Ihese tribes went to war » Twm . . 

the N. W.Temtory. 

to recover the lands which they had ceded 
to the United States. In September General Harmar, with 
fourteen hundred men, marched from Fort Washington, on 
the present site of Cincinnati, to the Maumee. On the 21st 
of October the army was defeated, with great loss, at a ford of 
this stream. General Harmar retreated to Fort Washington. 

7. After the defeat of Harmar, General St. Clair, with two 
thousand men, set out from Fort Washington to break the 
power of the Miamis. On the 4th of November he was 
attacked in the southwest angle of Mercer County, Ohio, 
by more than two thousand warriors. After a terrible battle, 
St. Clair was completely defeated, with a loss of half his men. 
The fugitives retreated precipitately to Fort Washington. The 



208 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



news of the disaster spread sorrow throughout the land. St. 
Clair was superseded by General Wayne, whom the people 
had named Mad Anthony. 

8. The population of Kentucky had now 
Kentucky reached seventy-three thousand. Seven- 
teen years before, Daniel Boone, the hardy 
hunter of North Carolina, had settled at Boonesborough. 
Harrodsburg and Lexington were founded about the same 
time. During the Revolution the pioneers were constantly 
beset by the savages. After the expedition of General Clark, 
in 1779, thousands of immigrants came annually. On the 1st 
of June, 1792, Kentucky was admitted into the Union. At the 
presidential election of 1792, Washington was again unani- 
mously chosen ; as Vice-president, John Adams was reelected. 

9. Washington's second administration was greatly troubled 
in its relations with foreign governments. Citizen Genet, who 
was sent by the French republic as minister to the United 
States, arrived at Charleston, and was greeted with great 
enthusiasm. Taking advantage of his popularity, he fitted out 
privateers to prey on the commerce of Great Britain, and 
planned an expedition against Louisiana. When Washington 
refused to enter into an alliance with France, the minister 
threatened to appeal to the people. But Washington stood 
unmoved, and demanded the minister's recall. The authorities 
of France heeded the demand, and Genet was superseded by 
M. Fouchet. 

10. In 1794 the country was disturbed by 

The Whiskey a difficulty in western Pennsylvania, known 
Insurrection. _ _ _ 

as the Whiskey Insurrection. Congress 

had, three years previously, imposed a tax on all ardent spirits 
distilled in the United States. Genet and his partisans had 
incited the people of the distilling regions to resist the tax 
collectors. The disaffected rose in arms. Washington issued 
two proclamations, warning the insurgents to disperse; but 
instead of obeying, they fired upon^ the officers of the govern- 



Washington's administration, i 789-1 797. 209 



ment. General Henry Lee, with a strong detachment of troops, 
then marched to the scene of the disturbance and dispersed 
the rioters. 

11. In the fall of 1793 General Wayne entered the Indian 
country with a force of three thousand men. Near the scene 
of St. Clair's defeat he built Fort Recovery, and then pressed 
on to the junction of the Auglaize and the Maumee. Here 
he built Fort Defiance. On the 20th of August Wayne over- 
took the savages at the town of Waynesfield, and routed them 
with terrible losses. The chieftains were obliged to purchase 
peace by ceding to the United States all the territory east of a 
line drawn from Fort Recovery to the mouth of the Kentucky 
River. This was the last service of General Wayne. In 
December of 1796 he died, and was buried at Presque Isle. 

12. In 1793 George III. issued instruc- 
tions to British privateers to seize all neu- British 

x riv3. tGGrs 

tral vessels found trading in the French 
West Indies. The United States had no notification of this 
measure, and American commerce to the value of many mil- 
lions of dollars was swept from the sea. Chief-justice Jay was 
sent to demand redress, and in November of 1794 an honor- 
able treaty was concluded. It was specified in the treaty that 
Great Britain should make reparation for the injuries done, and 
surrender to the United States certain Western posts which until 
now had been held by that country. 

13. In 1795 the boundary between the United States and 
Louisiana was settled. Spain granted to the Americans the 
free navigation of the Mississippi. About this time a difficulty 
arose with the dey of Algiers. For many years Algerine pirates 
had been preying upon the commerce of civilized nations. 
The dey had agreed with these nations that his pirate ships 
should not attack their vessels if they would pay him an annual 
tribute. The Algerine sea-robbers were now turned loose on 
American commerce, and the government of the United States 
was also obliged to purchase safety by paying tribute, 

14.— U. S. Hist. 



2IO 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 




Algerine Pirates. 



14. In 1796 Tennessee, the third new State, 
Admission of w ^ admitted into the Union. The popula- 
tion already numbered more than seventy 
thousand. The first inhabitants of Tennessee were as hardy 
a race of pioneers as ever braved the wilderness. 

15. Washington was solicited to become a candidate for a 
third election; but he refused. In September of 1796 he is- 
sued to the people of the United States his Farewell Address 
— a document full of wisdom and patriotism. The political 
parties at once put forward their candidates — John Adams as 
the choice of the Federal, and Thomas Jefferson of the anti- 
Federal party. The chief question between the parties was 
whether it was the true policy of the United States to enter 
into intimate relations with France. The anti-Federalists said, 
Yes! The Federalists said, No! On that issue Mr. Adams 
was elected, but Mr. Jefferson, having the next highest num- 
ber of votes, became Vice-president. 



CHAPTER XXX. 



Adams's Administration, i 797-1801, 



GN the 4th of March, 1797, President Adams was inaugu- 
rated. From the beginning, his administration was 
embarrassed by political 
opposition. Adet, the 
French minister, urged 
the government to con- 
clude a league with 
France against Great 
Britain. When the Presi- 
dent and Congress re- 
fused, the French Direc- 
tory began to demand an 
alliance. On the 10th of 
March that body issued 
instructions to French 
men-of-war to assail the 
commerce of the United 
States. Mr. Pinckney, the American minister, was ordered 
to leave France. 

2. These proceedings were equivalent to 
a declaration of war. The President con- 
vened Congress in extraordinary session. 
Elbridge Gerry and John Marshall were directed to join Mr. 
Pinckney in a final effort for a peaceable adjustment of the 
difficulties. But the Directory refused to receive the ambassa- 
dors except upon condition that they would pay into the 
French treasury a quarter of a million dollars. Pinckney 

(211) 




John Adams. 



Troubles with 
France. 



212 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



answered that the United States had millions for defense, but 
not one cent for tribute. The envoys were then ordered to 
leave the country. 

3. In 1798 an act was passed by Congress completing the 
organization of the army. Washington was called from his 
retirement and appointed commander-in-chief. Six American 
frigates put to sea, and, in the fall of 1799 did good service for 
the country. Commodore Truxtun, in the Constellation, won 
distinguished honors. On the 9th of February, while cruising 
in the West Indies, he attacked the Insurgent, a French man- 
of-war, carrying forty guns and more than four hundred sea- 
men. A desperate engagement ensued; and Truxtun gained 
a complete victory. 

4. Meanwhile, Napoleon Bonaparte had overthrown the Di- 
rectory of France and made himself First Consul. He imme- 
diately sought peace with the United States. Three American 
ambassadors were sent to Paris, in March of 1800. Negotia- 
tions were at once opened, and in the following September 
were terminated with a treaty of peace. 




Home of Washington at Mount Vernon. 




adams's administration, 1797-1801. 213 



5. Before the war-cloud was scattered 

America was called to mourn the loss of TTy 6 ^ ° f 

Washington. 

Washington. On the 14th of December, 
1799, after an illness of only a day, the chieftain passed from 
among the living. All hearts were touched with sorrow. Con- 
gress went in funeral procession to the German Lutheran 
church, where General Henry Lee delivered a touching and 
eloquent oration. Throughout the world the memory of the 
great dead was honored with appropriate ceremonies. 

6. The administration of Adams and the eighteenth century 
drew to a close together. The new Republic was growing 
strong and influential. The census of 1800 showed that the 
population of the country had increased 

to over five millions. The seventy-five Washington 
post-offices reported by the census of 1790 
had been multiplied to nine hundred and three ; the exports of 
the United States had grown from twenty millions to nearly 
seventy-one millions of dollars. In December of 1800, Con- 
gress assembled in Washington City. Virginia and Maryland 
had ceded to the United States the District of Columbia, a 
tract ten miles square lying on both sides of the Potomac. The 
city was laid out in 1792 ; and in 1800 the population numbered 
between eight and nine thousand. 

7. With prudent management the Federal party might have 
retained control of the government. But much of the legis- 
lation of Congress had been unwise and unpopular. The 
" Alien Law," by which the President was authorized to send 
foreigners out of the country, was specially odious. The " Sedi- 
tion Law/' which punished with fine and imprisonment the 
freedom of speech and of the press, was denounced as an act 
of tyranny. Partisan excitement ran high. Mr. Adams and 
Mr. Charles C. Pinckney were put forward as the candidates 
of the Federalists, and Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr of 
the Democrats. The election was thrown into the House of 
Representatives, and the choice fell on Jefferson and Burr. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 



Jefferson's Administration, i 801-1809. 

AT the beginning of his administration, Mr. Jefferson trans- 
ferred the chief offices of the government to members of 
the Democratic party. Such action was justified by the ad- 
herents of the President on the ground that the affairs of a 
republic will be best administered when the officers hold the 
same political sentiments. One of the first acts of Congress 
was to abolish the system of internal revenues. The unpopular 
" Alien" and "Sedition" laws were also repealed. 

2. In the year 1800 a line was drawn through the North- 
west Territory from the mouth of the Great Miami River 
northward, through Fort Recovery on the head waters of 

the Wabash, to Canada. 
Two years afterwards the 
country east of this line 
was erected into the State 
of Ohio, which, in 1803, 
was admitted into the 
Union. The portion west 
of the line was organized 
under the name of Indiana 
Territory. 

3. The new region thus 
brought under civil govern- 
ment embraced a vast area 
of country. It included 
all of the present States of 
Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, and a small portion of 
Minnesota. Vincennes was made the capital. The appoint- 
(214) 




Thomas Jefferson. 



Jefferson's administration, 1801-1809. 2I S 



ment of Governor and Superintendent of Indian Affairs was 
conferred on General William Henry Harrison. The work 
imposed upon him was very great. First ap- 
pointed by President John Adams, he was Ter^to-'y 
afterwards reappointed to the same position 
by Presidents Jefferson and Madison. Repairing to his field 
of duty, he convened the first Territorial Legislature at Vin- 
cennes, in 1805, and entered at once into negotiations with the 
Indian tribes. 

4. During the administration of Governor Harrison, many 
salutary measures were adopted with respect to the natives. 
The Governor sought to prevent the sale of intoxicating 
liquors among them, and induced many of the tribes to sub- 
mit to inoculation, as a means of preventing the ravages of 
smallpox. In September, 1809, he met a congress of the tribes 
at Vincennes, and effected the purchase of about three million 
acres of valuable land in the valleys of the Wabash and White 
rivers. It was these progressive measures which aroused the 
jealousy and alarm of the Red men, and brought on the Indian 
war of 1 8 1 1 . 

5. About the same time of the organization of Indiana Terri- 
tory the Mississippi Territory was organized. More impor- 
tant still was the purchase of the vast region called Louisiana. 
In 1800 Napoleon had compelled Spain to make a cession of this 
territory to France. He now authorized his minister to dispose 
of Louisiana by sale. The President appointed Mr. Livingston 
and James Monroe to negotiate the purchase. On the 30th 
of April, 1803, terms were agreed on; and for the sum of 
eleven million two hundred and fifty thousand dollars Louisi- 
ana was ceded to the United States. It was 

also agreed that the United States should pay ^w^e™ 
certain debts due from France to American 
citizens — the sum not to exceed three million seven hundred 
and fifty thousand dollars. Thus did that vast domain west of 
the Mississippi pass under the dominion of the United States. 



2l6 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

6. Out of the southern portion of the great province the 
Territory of Orleans was organized with the same limits 
as the present State of Louisiana; the rest continued to be 
called the Territory of Louisiana. Very justly did Mr. 
Livingston say to the French minister as they arose from sign- 
ing the treaty: "This is the noblest work of our lives." 

7. In 180 1 John Marshall became Chief-justice of the 
United States. In the colonial times, the English constitution 
and common law had prevailed in America. When the new 
Republic was organized, it became necessary to modify the prin- 
ciples of law and to adapt them to the altered form of govern- 
ment. This great work was accomplished by Chief-justice 
Marshall. 

8. The Mediterranean pirates still annoyed 
Tripoli American merchantmen. The emperors of 

Morocco, Algiers, and Tripoli became espe- 
cially troublesome. In 1803 Commodore Preble was sent 
to the Mediterranean to protect American commerce and 
punish the pirates. The frigate Philadelphia, under Captain 
Bainbridge, sailed directly to Tripoli. When nearing his des- 
tination, Bainbridge gave chase to a pirate which fled for 
safety to the harbor. The Philadelphia, in close pursuit, ran 
upon a reef of rocks near the shore, and was captured by the 
Tripolitans. The officers were treated with some respect, but 
the crew were enslaved. 

9. In the following February Captain Decatur sailed to 
Tripoli in a Moorish ship, called the Intrepid. At nightfall 
Decatur steered into the harbor, slipped alongside of the Phila- 
delphia, sprang on deck with his daring band, and killed or 
drove overboard every Moor on the vessel. In a moment 
the frigate was fired; Decatur and his crew escaped to the 
Intrepid without the loss of a man. 

10. In July of 1804 Commodore Preble arrived at Tripoli 
and began a siege. The town was bombarded, and several 
Moorish vessels were destroyed. In the mean time, William 



Jefferson's administration, 1801-1809. 



217 



Eaton, the American consul at Tunis, had organized a force, 
and was marching overland to Tripoli. Hamet, who was the 
rightful sovereign of Tripoli, was cooperating with Eaton in an 
effort to recover his kingdom. Yusef, the Tripolitan emperor, 
made overtures for peace. His offers were accepted, and a 
treaty was concluded on the 4th of June, 1805. 

11. In 1804 the country was shocked by the intelligence that 

Vice-president Burr had killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel. 

As his term of office drew to a close, Burr foresaw that he 

would not be renominated. In 1803 he became a candidate 

for governor of New York ; but Hamilton's 

influence in that State prevented his elec- - Scliem ® s 

r of Aaron Burr, 

tion. Burr thereupon sought a quarrel with 

Hamilton, challenged him, met him at YVeehawken on the 

morning of the nth of July, and deliberately murdered him. 

Thus the brightest intellect in America was put out in 

darkness. 

12. After the death of Hamilton, Burr fled to the South. At 
the opening of the next session of Congress he returned to pre- 
side over the Senate. Then he took up his residence with an 
Englishman named Blennerhassett, who had built a mansion on 
an island in the Ohio, near the mouth of the Muskingum. 
Here Burr made a treasonable scheme to raise a military force, 
invade Mexico, detach the Southwestern States from the 
Union, and overthrow the government of the United States. 
But his purposes were suspected. The military preparations at 
Blennerhassett's Island were broken up. Burr was arrested in 
Alabama and taken to Richmond to be tried for treason. 
Chief-justice Marshall presided at the trial, and Burr con- 
ducted his own defence. The verdict was, "Not guilty — 
for want of sufficient proof" Burr afterward practiced law in 
New York, lived to old age, and died in poverty. 

13. In the autumn of 1804 Jefferson was reelected. For 
Vice-president, George Clinton of New York was chosen in 
place of Burr. In the next year a part of the Northwest 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 




Lewis and Clarke's Expedition. 



Lewis and Clarke's 
Expedition. 



Territory was organized under the name of 
Michigan. In the same spring, Captains 
Lewis and Clarke set out from the falls of 
the Missouri River with thirty-five soldiers and hunters to 
explore Oregon. For two years, through forests of gigantic 
pines, and along the banks of unknown rivers, did they con- 
tinue their explorations. After wandering among unheard-of 
tribes of savages, and traversing a route of six thousand miles, 
the adventurers, with the loss of but one man, returned to 
civilization. 

14. During Jefferson's second term, the country was much 
agitated by the aggressions of the British navy. England and 
France were engaged in war. The British authorities struck 
blow after blow against the trade between France and foreign 
nations ; and Napoleon retaliated. The plan adopted by the 



Jefferson's administration, 1801-1809. 219 



two powers was to blockade each other's ports with men-of- 
war. By such means the commerce of the United States was 
greatly injured. 

15. In May of 1806 England blockaded 

the whole coast of France. American vessels, Agg resslon s on 

American 

approaching the French ports, were seized as Commerce, 
prizes. The following November Bonaparte 
issued a decree blockading the British isles. Again American 
merchantmen were subjected to seizure. In January of the 
next year Great Britain retaliated by prohibiting the French 
coasting-trade. These measures were all in violation of the 
law of nations. 

16. Great Britain next set up the peculiar claim of citizen- 
ship, that whoever is born in England remains through life a 
subject of England. English cruisers were authorized to search 
American vessels for persons suspected of being British sub- 
jects. Those who were taken were impressed as seamen in 
the English navy. 

17. On the 22d of June, 1807, the frigate 

Chesapeake was hailed near Fortress Mon- Impressment 

r of Seamen, 

roe by a British man-of-war called the 

Leopard. British officers came on board and demanded 

to search the vessel for deserters. The demand was refused and 

the ship cleared for action. But before the guns could be 

charged, the Leopard poured in a destructive fire and compelled 

a surrender. Four men were taken from the captured ship, 

three of whom proved to be American citizens. Great Britain 

disavowed this outrage, and promised reparation; but the 

promise was never fulfilled. 

18. The President issued a proclamation 
forbidding British ships of war to enter The Embargo 
American harbors. On the 21st of Decem- 
ber Congress passed the Embargo Act, by which all American 
vessels were detained in the ports of the United States. The 
object was to cut off commercial intercourse with France and 



220 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Robert Fulton's 
Steamboat. 



Great Britain. But after fourteen months the embargo act 
was repealed. Meanwhile, in November of 1808, the British 
government published an " order in council," prohibiting all 
trade with France and her allies. Thereupon Napoleon 
issued the " Milan decree," forbidding all trade with Eng- 
land and her colonies. By these outrages the commerce of 
the United States was well-nigh destroyed. 

19. While the country was thus distracted, Robert Fulton 
was building the first steamboat. Fulton was an Irishman 
by descent and a Pennsylvanian by birth. His education in 
boyhood was imperfect, but was afterward improved by study 
at London and Paris. 

20. Returning to New York, he began the 
construction of a steamboat. When the un- 
gainly craft was completed, Fulton invited 
his friends to go on board and enjoy a trip to Albany. 
On the 2d of September, T807, the crowds gathered on 
lllg^ the shore. The 

word was given, and 
the boat did not 
move. Fulton went 
below. Again the 
word was given, and 
the boat moved. On 
the next day the 
company reached 
Albany. For many 
years this first rude steamer, called the Clermont, plied the 
Hudson. 

21. Jefferson's administration drew to a close. The territo- 
rial area of the United States had been vastly extended. But 
the foreign relations of the nation were troubled. The Presi- 
dent declined a third election, and was succeeded by James 
Madison, of Virginia. For Vice-president, George Clinton was 
reelected. 




Fulton's " Clermont." 



CHAPTER XXXII. 



Madison's Administration. — War of 1812. 



THE new President had been a member of the Continental 
Congress, a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 
1787, and Secretary of r:? _ ? _ 
State under Jefferson. He 
owed his election to the 
Democratic party, whose 
sympathy with France and 
hostility to Great Britain 
were well known. On the 
1 st of March the embargo 
act was repealed by Con- 
gress, and another measure 
adopted by which American 
ships were allowed to go 
abroad, but were forbid- 
den to trade with Great 

Britain. Mr. Erskine, the James Madison * 

British minister, now gave notice that by the 
June the " orders in council," so far as 
they affected the United States, should be 
repealed. 

2. In the following spring Bonaparte issued a decree for the 
seizure of all American vessels that might approach the ports 
of France. But in November the decree was reversed, and 
all restrictions on the commerce of the United States were 
removed. But the government of Great Britain adhered to 
its former measures, and sent ships of war to enforce the 
" orders in council," 

(221) 




10th of 



War Threatened 
with England. 



222 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



3. The affairs of the two nations were fast approaching a 
crisis. The government of the United States had fallen com- 
pletely under control of the party which sympathized with 
France. The American people, smarting under the insults of 
Great Britain, had adopted the motto of Free Trade and 
Sailors' Rights, and had made up their minds to fight; the 
sentiment was that war was preferable to national disgrace. 

4. In the spring of 18 10 the third census of the United States 
was completed. The population had increased to seven mil- 
lion two hundred and forty thousand souls. The States now 
numbered seventeen ; and several new Territories were prepar- 
ing for admission into the Union. The rapid march of civiliza- 
tion westward had aroused the jealousy of the Red men, and 
Indiana Territory was afflicted with an Indian war. 

5. Tecumtha, chief of the Shawnees — 
Gen. Harrison , , . . j 1 • 

. , a brave and sagacious warrior — and his 

in Indiana. 

brother, called the Prophet, were the leaders 

of the revolt. Their plan was to unite all the nations of the 
Northwest Territory in a final effort to beat back the whites. 
When, in September of 1809, Governor Harrison met the 
chiefs of several tribes at Fort Wayne, and purchased three 
million acres of land, Tecumtha refused to sign the treaty, and 
threatened death to those who did. In 18 10 he visited the 
nations of Tennessee and exhorted them to join his con- 
federacy. 

6. Governor Harrison stood firm, sent for soldiers, and 
mustered the militia of the Territory. The Indians began to 
prowl through the Wabash Valley, murdering and stealing. 
The governor then advanced to Terre Haute, built Fort Harri- 
son, and hastened toward the town of the Prophet, at the 
mouth of the Tippecanoe. W T hen within a few miles of this 
place, Harrison was met by Indian ambassadors, who asked for 
a conference on the following day. Their request was granted ; 
and the American army encamped for the night. The place 
selected was a piece of high ground covered with oaks, 



madison's administration. — war of 1812. 223 



7. Before daybreak on the morning of November 7th, 181 1, 
the savages, seven hundred strong, crept through the marshes, 
surrounded Harrison's position, and burst upon the camp. 
But the American militia fought in the 
darkness, held the Indians in check until 
daylight, and then routed them in several 
vigorous charges. On the next day, the Americans burned 
the Prophet's town, and soon afterwards returned to Vincennes. 
Such was the success of the campaign that the Indians were 



Battle of 
Tippecanoe. 



A o ^MILWAUKEE, 1835 /, ^^^rforunna^ ^ 
Waifkesha > Grand Rapids < J s \ -P n 

Waukesha . t *\/\ LANSING e <£ 

^ cfJRacine r? ^ A^V n r t ^ VtT t A a^tvt 

l4l V £ / An^Arbor DE ^V - 

Y Cj I — . o °. o /<° Sandwich 

Kalamazoo ^ JacT^on^^ ^ J), Maldej 



Wauke) 





ar,an °^Monr^ I 




Joliet 
vJKarikak' 

w • -Logansport > 

Tippecanoe -°~ 



cvj °South3ena w ™f> 



Sept.10,1813 Cleveland/ 

WSMp r . 



„ t Sandusky ) / 

•'fiance ( Fremont ) „ o-^ 

■ c b Ravenna 



Danvillev 




\ ^ov.7,181lX 

3 I T&T^> oTipton 
IJrbana L^ovy^ < Lafayette 



oCrawfurdsvme^ Muncie j 

f Richmond J Springjeia 



^It. Vernon 

^Zanesville 

COLOMBO^, Xewark ' 
1812 J *' 




Western Battle-fields located relatively to Present Cities. 



overawed, the peace of the white settlements secured, and the 
way made easy for the organization and admission of the 
State of Indiana into the Union five years afterwards. 

8. Meanwhile, Great Britain and the United States had 
come into conflict on the ocean. On the 16th of May, Com- 
modore Rodgers, commanding the frigate President, hailed a 
vessel off the coast of Virginia. Instead of a polite answer, he 
received a cannon-ball in the mainmast. Rodgers responded 
with a broadside, silencing the enemy's guns. In the morning 
— for it was already dark — the hostile ship was found to be 
the British sloop-of-vvar Little Belt, 



224 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



9. On the 4th of November, 181 1, the twelfth Congress of 
the United States assembled. Many of the members still 
hoped for peace; and the winter passed without decisive 
measures. On the 4th of April, 181 2, an act was passed lay- 
ing an embargo for ninety days on all British vessels within 
the harbors of the United States. But Great Britain would 
not recede from her hostile attitude. Before the actual out- 
break of hostilities, Louisiana, the eighteenth State, was, on 
the 8th of April, admitted into the Union. Her population 
had already reached seventy-seven thousand. 

10. On the 19th of June a declaration 
Declaration r , . . ^ • ^ . 

^ w of war was made against Great Britain. 

ofWar. . & 

Vigorous preparations for the conflict were 
made by Congress. It was ordered to raise twenty-five 
thousand regular troops and fifty thousand volunteers. The 
several States were requested to call out a hundred thousand 
militia. A national loan of eleven million dollars was author- 
ized. Henry Dearborn, of Massachusetts, was chosen com- 
mander-in-chief of the army. 

11. The war was begun by General William Hull, governor 
of Michigan Territory. On the 1st of June he marched from 
Dayton with fifteen hundred men. For a full month the army 
toiled through the forests to the western extremity of Lake 
Erie. Arriving at the Maumee, Hull sent his baggage to 
Detroit. But the British at Maiden were on the alert, and 
captured Hull's boat with everything on board. Nevertheless, 
the Americans pressed on to Detroit, and on the 12th of July 
crossed the river to Sandwich. 

12. Hull, hearing that Mackinaw had been taken by the 
British, soon returned to Detroit. From this place he sent 
Major Van Home to meet Major Brush, who had reached the 
river Raisin with reinforcements. But Tecumtha laid an am- 
bush for Van Home's forces and defeated them near Browns- 
town. Colonel Miller, with another detachment, attacked and 
routed the savages with great loss, and then returned to Detroit. 



madison's administration. — war of 1812. 225 



The Surrender 
of Detroit. 




13. General Brock, governor of Canada, 
now took command of the British at Maiden. 
On the 1 6th of August he advanced to 
the siege of Detroit. The Americans in their trenches were 
eager for battle. When the British were within five hundred 
yards, Hull hoisted 
a white flag over the 
fort. Then followed 
a surrender, the most 
shameful in the his- 
tory of the United 
States. All the forces 
under Hull's com- 
mand became pris- 
oners of war. The 
whole of Michigan 
Territory was sur- 
rendered to the 
British. Hull was 

afterward court-martialed and sentenced to be shot 
President pardoned him. 

14. About the time of the fall of Detroit, Fort Dearborn, on 
the present site of Chicago, was surrendered to an army of 
Indians. The garrison capitulated on condition of retiring 
without molestation. But the savages fell upon the retreating 
soldiers, killed some, and distributed the rest as captives. 

15. On the 19th of August the frigate 
Constitution, commanded by Captain Isaac 
Hull, overtook the British Guerriere off 
the coast of Massachusetts. The vessels maneuvered for 
a while, the Constitution closing with her antagonist, until at 
half pistol-shot she poured in a broadside, sweeping the decks 
of the Guerriere and deciding the contest. On the following 
morning, the Guerriere, being unmanageable, was blown up; 
and Hull returned to port with his prisoners and spoils. 

15.— U. S. Hist. 



Engagement of the Wasp and the Frolic. 

but the 



The War 
at Sea. 



226 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



1 6. On the 18th of October the American Wasp, under 
Captain Jones, fell in with a fleet of British merchantmen off 
the coast of Virginia. The squadron was under protection of 
the Frolic, commanded by Captain Whinyates. A terrible en- 
gagement ensued, lasting for three quarters of an hour. Finally, 
the American crew boarded the Frolic and struck the British 
flag. Soon afterwards the Poictiers, a British seventy-four gun 
ship, bore down upon the scene, captured the Wasp, and re- 
took the wreck of the Frolic. 

17. On the 25th of the month Commodore Decatur, com- 
manding the frigate U7iited States, captured the British Mace- 
donian, a short distance west of the Canary Islands. The loss 
of the enemy in killed and wounded amounted to more than a 
hundred men. On the 12th of December the Essex, com- 
manded by Captain Porter, captured the Norton, a British 
packet, having on board fifty-five thousand dollars in specie. 
On the 29th of December the Constitution, under command 
of Commodore Bainbridge, met the Java on the coast of Brazil. 
A furious battle ensued, continuing for two hours. The Java 
was reduced to a wreck before the flag was struck. The crew 
and passengers, numbering upward of four hundred, were 
transferred to the Constitution, and the hull was burned at 
sea. The news of these victories roused the enthusiasm of 
the people. 

18. On the 13th of October a thousand 
Van Rensselaer -, -. r ^ , -, TT 

men, commanded by General Stephen Van 
at Queenstown. ' J r 

Rensselaer, crossed the Niagara River to 
capture Queenstown. They were resisted at the water's 
edge; but the British batteries on the heights were finally 
carried. The enemy's forces, returning to the charge, were a 
second time repulsed. The Americans intrenched themselves, 
and waited for reinforcements. None came ; and, after losing 
a hundred and sixty men, they were then obliged to surrender. 
General Van Rensselaer resigned his command, and was suc- 
ceeded by General Alexander Smyth. 



madison's administration. — war of 1812. 227 

19. The Americans now rallied at Black Rock, a few miles 
north of Buffalo. From this point, on the 28th of November, 
a company was sent across to the Canada shore, but General 
Smyth ordered the advance party to return. A few days after- 
ward, another crossing was planned, with the same results. 
The militia became mutinous. Smyth was charged with 
cowardice and deposed from his command. In the autumn 
of 181 2 Madison was reelected President; the choice for Vice- 
president fell on Elbridge Gerry, of Massachusetts. 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 



War of 1812. — Events of 1 8 1 3 . 

IN the beginning of 181 3 the American army was organized 
in three divisions : the Army of the North, under 
General Wade Hampton; the Army of the Center, under 
General Dearborn; the Army of the. West, under Gen- 
eral Winchester, who was soon superseded by General Harri- 
son. Early in January the Army of the West moved toward 
Lake Erie to regain the ground lost by Hull. On the 10th of 
the month the American advance reached the rapids of the 
Maumee, thirty miles from Winchester's camp. A detachment 
then pressed forward to Frenchtown, on the river Raisin, cap- 
tured the town, and on the 20th of the month were joined by 
Winchester with the main division. 

2. Two days afterwards the Americans were 

Events in the assaiu *ted by a thousand five hundred British 
West. J 

and Indians under General Proctor. A severe 

battle was fought. General Winchester, having been taken by 

the enemy, advised his forces to capitulate. The American 

wounded were left to the mercy of the savages, who at once 

completed their work of butchery. The rest of the prisoners 

were dragged away, through untold sufferings, to Detroit, 

where they were afterward ransomed. 

3. General Harrison now built Fort Meigs, on the Maumee. 

Here he was besieged by two thousand British and savages, 

led by Proctor and Tecumtha. Meanwhile, General Clay, 

with twelve hundred Kentuckians, advanced to the relief of 

the fort. In a few days the Indians deserted in large numbers, 

and Proctor, becoming alarmed, abandoned the siege, and 

retreated to Maiden. 

(228) 



WAR OF l8l2. — EVENTS OF 1813. 



229 



4. Late in July Proctor and Tecumtha, 

with nearly four thousand men, again be- 3\^ ei P ^ 
J 9 ° Ft. Stephenson. 

sieged Fort Meigs. Failing to draw out the 
garrison, the British general filed off with half his forces and 
attacked Fort Stephenson, at Lower Sandusky. This place 
was defended by a hundred and sixty men under Colonel 
Croghan, a stripling but twenty-one years of age. On the 2d 
of August the British advanced to storm the fort. Having 
crowded into the trench, they were swept away almost to a 
man. The repulse was complete. Proctor now raised the 
siege at Fort Meigs and returned to Maiden. 

5. At this time Lake Erie was com- 

Perrv on 

manded by a British squadron of six ves- Lake Erie 
sels. The work of recovering these waters 
was intrusted to Commodore Oliver H. Perry. His antagonist, 
Commodore Barclay, was a veteran from Europe. With 
great energy Perry directed the construction of nine ships, and 
was soon afloat. On the 10th of September the two fleets met 
near Put-in Bay. The battle was begun by the American 
squadron, Perry's flag-ship, the Lawrence, leading the attack. 
His principal antagonist was the Detroit, under command of 
Barclay. The British guns had the wider range, and were 
better served. In a short time the Lawrence was ruined, and 
Barclay's flagship was almost a wreck. 

6. Perceiving how the battle stood, Perry seized his banner, 
got overboard into an open boat, passed within pistol-shot of 
the enemy's ships, a storm of balls flying around him, and 
transferred his flag to the Niagara. With this powerful vessel 
he bore down upon the enemy's line, drove right through the 
midst, discharging terrible broadsides right and left. In fifteen 
minutes the British fleet was helpless. Perry returned to the 
hull of the Lawrence, and there received the surrender. And 
then he sent to General Harrison this dispatch : " We have 
met the enemy, and they are ours — two ships, two brigs, one 
schooner, and one sloop." 



230 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 




Fall of Tecumtha at the Battle of the Thames. 



7. For the Americans the way was now 
tl^Thames opened to Canada. On the 27th of Sep- 
tember Harrison's army was landed near 
Maiden. The British retreated to the river Thames, and there 
faced about to fight. The battlefield extended from the river 
to a swamp. Here, on the 5th of October, the British were 
attacked by Generals Harrison and Shelby. In the beginning 
of the battle Proctor fled. The British regulars were broken 
by the Kentuckians under Colonel Richard M. Johnson. The 
Americans wheeled against the fifteen hundred Indians, who 
lay hidden in the swamp. Tecumtha had staked all on the 
issue. For a while his war-whoop sounded above the din of 



WAR OF l8l2. — EVENTS OF 1813. 



231 



the conflict. Presently his voice was heard no longer, for the 
great chieftain had fallen. The savages, appalled by the death 
of their leader, fled in despair. So ended the campaign in the 
West. All that Hull had lost was regained. 

8. Meanwhile, the Creeks of Alabama 

had taken up arms. In the latter part of General Jackson 

ITT, A I fl.nfi.Tn ft, 

August, Fort Mims, forty miles north of 
Mobile, was surprised by the savages, who murdered nearly 
four hundred people. The governors of Tennessee, Georgia, 
and Mississippi made immediate preparation for invading 
the country of the Creeks. The Tennesseeans, under General 
Jackson, were first to the rescue. Nine hundred men, led 
by General Coffee, reached the Indian town of Tallushatchee, 
burned it, and left not an Indian alive. On the 8th of Novem- 
ber a battle was fought at Talladega, and the savages were 
defeated with severe losses. 

9. During the winter, Jackson's troops became mutinous and 
were going home. But the general set them the example of 
living on acorns, and threatened with death the first man who 
stirred from the ranks. And no man stirred. At Horseshoe 
Bend the Creeks made their final stand. On the 27th of 
March, the whites under General Jackson stormed the breast- 
works and drove the Indians into the bend of the river. There, 
huddled together, a thousand Creek warriors, with the women 
and children of the tribe, met their doom. The nation was 
completely conquered. 

10. On the 25th of April, 181 3, General 

Dearborn embarked his forces at Sackett's Expedition 

against Toronto. 

Harbor, and proceeded against Toronto. On 
the 27th of the month, seventeen hundred men, landing near 
Toronto, drove the British from the water's edge, stormed a 
battery, and rushed forward to carry the main defences. At 
that moment the British magazine blew up with terrific violence. 
Two hundred men were killed or wounded. General Pike 
was fatally injured; but the Americans continued the charge 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



and drove the enemy out of the town. Property to the value 
of a half million dollars was secured to the victors. 

1 1 . While this movement was taking place the enemy made 
a descent on Sackett's Harbor. But General Brown rallied 
the militia and drove back the assailants. The victorious troops 
at Toronto reembarked and crossed the lake to the mouth of 
the Niagara. On the 27th of May the Americans, led by 
Generals Chandler and Winder, stormed Fort George. The 
British retreated to Burlington Bay, at the western extremity 
of the lake. 

12. After the battle of the Thames, Gen- 
Expedition 1 XT • 1 1 • . . ^ 
. 5 ,ir j. , eral Harrison resigned his commission. Gen- 
against Montreal. 

eral Dearborn was succeeded by General 

Wilkinson. The next campaign embraced the conquest of 
Montreal. On the 5th of November seven thousand men, 
embarking twenty miles north of Sackett's Harbor, sailed 
against Montreal. Parties of British, Canadians, and Indians, 
gathering on the bank of the river, impeded the expedition. 
General Brown was landed with a considerable force to drive 
the enemy into the interior. On the nth of the month a 
severe but indecisive battle was fought at a place called 
Chrysler's Field. The Americans passed down the river to 
St. Regis, and went into winter quarters at Fort Covington. 

13. In the mean time, the British on the Niagara rallied and 
recaptured Fort George. Before retreating, General McClure, 
the commandant, burned the town of Newark. The British 
and Indians crossed the river, took Fort Niagara, and fired the 
villages of Youngstown, Lewiston, and Manchester. On the 
30th of December, Black Rock and Buffalo were burned. 

14. Off the coast of Demerara, on the 24th 

^eTceir of Februar y> l8l 3> the sloop-of-war Hornet, 
commanded by Captain James Lawrence, fell 
in with the British brig Peacock. A terrible battle of fifteen 
minutes ensued, and the Peacock struck her colors. While 
the Americans were transferring the conquered crew, the brig 



WAR OF l8l2. — EVENTS OF 1813. 233 




" Don't give up the Ship." 



sank. Nine of the British sailors and three of Lawrence's 
men were drowned. 

15. On returning to Boston the command of the Chesapeake 
was given to Lawrence, and again he put to sea. He was 
soon challenged by Captain Broke, of the British Shannon, to 
fight him. Eastward from Cape Ann the two vessels met on 
the 1st day of June. The battle was obstinate, brief, dreadful. 
In a short time, every officer of the Chesapeake was either 
killed or wounded. Lawrence was struck with a musket-ball, 



234 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



and fell dying on the deck. As they bore him down the hatch- 
way, he gave his last order — ever afterwards the motto of the 
American sailor — " Don't give up the ship ! " The Shannon 
towed her prize into the harbor of Halifax. There the bodies 
of Lawrence and Ludlow, second in command, were buried 
by the British. 

1 6. On the 14th of August the American brig Argus was 
overtaken by the Pelican and obliged to surrender. On the 
5th of September the British brig Boxer was captured by the 
American Enterprise off the coast of Maine. On the 28th of 
the following March, while the Essex , commanded by Captain 
Porter, was lying in the harbor of Valparaiso, she was attacked 
by two British vessels, the Phoebe and the Cherub. Captain 
Porter fought his antagonists until nearly all of his men were 
killed or wounded ; then struck his colors and surrendered. 

17. From honorable warfare the naval offi- 

Marauding cerS °^ England stooped to marauding. Early 
in the year, Lewiston was bombarded by a 
British squadron. Other British men-of-war entered the Chesa- 
peake and burned several villages on the shores of the bay. 
At the town of Hampton the soldiers and marines perpetrated 
great outrages. Commodore Hardy, to whom the blockade 
of New England had been assigned, behaved with more hu- 
manity. Even the Americans praised him for his honorable 
conduct. So the year 1813 closed without decisive results. 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 
The Campaigns of 1814. 



Operations about 
Niagara. 



IN the spring of 18 14 another invasion 
of Canada was planned ; but there was 
much delay. Not until the 3d of July did 
Generals Scott and Ripley, with three thousand men, cross 
the Niagara and capture Fort Erie. On the following day 
the Americans advanced in the direction of Chippewa village, 
but were met by the British, led 
by General Riall. On the even- 
ing of the 5th a severe battle was 
fought on the plain south of Chip- 
pewa Creek. The Americans, led 
on by Generals Scott and Ripley, 
won the day. 

2. General Riall retreated to 
Burlington Heights. On the even- 
ing of the 25th of July, General 
Scott, commanding the American 
right, found himself confronted 
by Riall's army, on the high 
grounds in sight of Niagara Falls. 
Here was fought the hardest battle 
of the war. Scott held his own 
until reinforced by other divisions 
of the army. The British reserves were brought into action. 
Twilight faded into darkness. A detachment of Americans, 
getting upon the British rear, captured General Riall and his 
staff. The key to the enemy's position was a high ground 
crowned with a battery. Calling Colonel James Miller to his 

(235) 




236 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



side, General Brown said, " Colonel, take your regiment and 
storm that battery." "I 'll try, sir," was Miller's answer; 
and he did take it, and held it against three assaults of the 
British. General Drummond was wounded, and the royal 
army, numbering five thousand, was driven from the field with 




Colonel Miller at Lundy's Lane. 

a loss of more than eight hundred. The Americans lost an 
equal number. 

3. After this battle of Niagara, or Lundy's Lane, the Amer- 
ican forces fell back to Fort Erie. General Gaines crossed 
over from Buffalo, and assumed command of the army. Gen- 
eral Drummond received reinforcements, and on the 4th of 
August invested Fort Erie. The siege continued until the 17th 
of September, when a sortie was made and the works of the 
British were carried. General Drummond then raised the siege 
and retreated to Fort George. On the 5th of November Fort 
Erie was destroyed by the Americans, who recrossed the 



THE CAMPAIGNS OF 1814. 



2 37 



Niagara and went into winter quarters at Black Rock and 
Buffalo. 

4. The winter of 18 13-14 was passed by the army of the 
North at Fort Covington. At this time, the American fleet on 
Lake Champlain was commanded by Commodore McDon- 
ough. The British general Prevost now advanced into New 
York at the head of fourteen thousand men, and ordered Com- 
modore Downie to ascend the Sorel with his fleet. 

5. The invading army reached Pitts- 
burgh. Commodore McDonough's squadron Pittsburgh 
lay in the bay. On the 6th of September, 

Macomb retired with his forces to the south bank of the 
Saranac. For four days the British renewed their efforts 
to cross the river. Downie's fleet was now ready for action, 
and a general battle was planned for the nth. Prevost's army 
was to carry Macomb's position, while the British flotilla was 
to bear down on McDonough. The naval battle began first, 
and was obstinately fought for two hours and a half. Downie 
and many of his officers were killed ; the heavier British vessels 
were disabled and obliged to strike their colors. The smaller 
ships escaped. After a severe action, the British army on 
the shore was also defeated. Prevost retired precipitately to 
Canada ; and the English ministry began to devise measures of 
peace. 

6. Late in the summer Admiral Cochrane 

arrived off the coast of Virginia with an arma- „ , . L 

b Burn Washington. 

ment of twenty-one vessels. General Ross, 
with an army of four thousand veterans, came with the fleet. 
The American squadron, commanded by Commodore Barney, 
was unable to oppose so powerful a force. The enemy entered 
the Chesapeake with the purpose of attacking Washington and 
Baltimore. The larger division sailed into the Patuxent, and 
on the 19th of August, the forces of General Ross were landed 
at Benedict. Commodore Barney was obliged to blow up his 
vessels and take to the shore. From Benedict the British ad- 



238 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

vanced against Washington. At Bladensburg, six miles from 
the capital, they were met, on the 24th of the month, by the 
forces of Barney. Here a battle was fought. The militia be- 
haved badly ; Barney was defeated and taken prisoner. The 
President, the cabinet, and the people betook themselves to 
flight; and Ross marched unopposed into Washington. All 
the public buildings except the Patent Office were burned, 
together with many of the public archives. The unfinished 
Capitol and the President's house were left a mass of ruins. 

7. Five days afterwards a portion of the 

The Siege of British fleet reached Alexandria. The in- 
Baltimore. 

habitants purchased the forbearance of the 
enemy by the surrender of twenty-one ships, sixteen thou- 
sand barrels of flour, and a thousand hogsheads of tobacco. 
After the capture of Washington, General Ross proceeded with 
his army and fleet to lay siege to the city of Baltimore. The 
militia, to the number of ten thousand, gathered under com- 
mand of General Samuel Smith. On the 12th of September 
the British were landed at the mouth of the Patapsco, and the 
fleet began the ascent of the river. The land-forces were met 
by the Americans under General Strieker. A skirmish en- 
sued, in which General Ross was killed ; but Colonel Brooks 
assumed command, and the march was continued. Near the 
city the British came upon the American lines and were brought 
to a halt. 

8. Meanwhile the British squadron had ascended the Pa- 
tapsco and begun the bombardment of Fort McHenry. From 
sunrise of the 13th until after midnight, the guns of the fleet 
poured a tempest of shells upon the fortress.* At the end o: 
that time the works were as strong as at the beginning. The 
British had undertaken more than they could accomplish. Dis- 
heartened and baffled, they ceased to fire. The land-forces 
retired, and the siege of Baltimore was at an end. 

* During the night of this bombardment, Francis S. Key, who was detained 
on board a British ship in the bay, composed The Star Spangled Banner. 



THE CAMPAIGNS OF 1814. 



2 39 



9. On the 9th and ioth of August the village of Stoning- 
ton, Connecticut, was bombarded by Commodore Hardy; but 
the British, attempting to land, were driven back. The fisheries 
of New England were broken up. The salt-works at Cape 
Cod escaped by the payment of heavy ransoms. All the 
harbors from Maine to Delaware were blockaded. The for- 
eign commerce of the Eastern States was totally destroyed. 

10. From the beginning, many of the 

people of New England had opposed the Convention 
war. The members of the Federal party 
cried out against it. The legislature of Massachusetts ad- 
vised the calling of a convention. The other Eastern States 
responded to the call; and on the 14th of December the dele- 
gates assembled at Hartford. The leaders of the Democratic 
party did not hesitate to say that the purposes of the assembly 
were disloyal and treasonable. After remaining in session, 
with closed doors, for nearly three weeks, the delegates pub- 
lished an address, and then adjourned. The political prospects 
of those who participated in the convention were ruined. 

11. During the progress of the war the Spanish authorities 

of Florida sympathized with the British. In 

August of 1 8 14 a British fleet was allowed 

to ^ the South, 

by the commandant of Pensacola to use that 

post for the purpose of fitting out an expedition against Fort 
Bowyer, on the bay of Mobile. General Jackson, who com- 
manded in the South, remonstrated with the Spaniards, but 
received no satisfaction. He thereupon marched a force 
against Pensacola, stormed the town, and drove the British 
out of Florida. 

12. General Jackson next learned that the British were 
making preparations for the conquest of Louisiana. Repair- 
ing to New Orleans, he declared martial law, mustered the 
militia, and adopted measures for repelling the invasion. The 
British army, numbering twelve thousand, came from Jamaica, 
under Sir Edward Pakenham. On the 10th of December the 



240 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 




squadron entered Lake Borgne, sixty miles northeast of New 
Orleans. 

13. On the 2 2d of the month Pakenham's advance reached 
the Mississippi, nine miles below the city. On the night of 
the 23d Generals Jackson and Coffee advanced with two thou- 
sand Tennessee riflemen to attack the British camp. After a 
bloody assault, Jackson was obliged to fall back to a strong 
position on the canal, four miles below the city. Pakenham 
advanced, and on the 28th cannonaded the American position. 
On New Year's day the attack was renewed, and the enemy 
was driven back. Pakenham now made arrangements for a 
general battle. 



THE CAMPAIGNS OF 1814. 241 

14. Jackson was ready. Earthworks had 

been constructed, and a long line of cotton- . ^ 6 B & ttle 

' .of New Orleans. 

bales and sand-bags thrown up for protection. 

On the 8th of January the British moved forward. The 
battle began with the light of morning, and was ended before 
nine o'clock. Column after column of the British was smitten 
with irretrievable ruin. Jackson's men were almost entirely 
secure from the enemy's fire, while every discharge of the 
Tennessee and Kentucky rifles told with awful effect on the 
exposed veterans of England. Pakenham was killed ; Gen- 
eral Gibbs was mortally wounded. Only General Lambert 
was left to call the fragments of the army from the field. Of 
the British, seven hundred were killed, fourteen hundred 
wounded, and five hundred taken prisoners. The American 
loss amounted to eight killed and thirteen wounded. 

15. General Lambert retired with his ruined army. Jack- 
son marched into New Orleans and was received with great 
enthusiasm. Such was the close of the war on land. On the 
20th of February the American Constitution, off Cape St. Vin- 
cent, captured two British vessels, the Cyane and the Levant. 
On the 23d of March the American Hornet ended the conflict, 
by capturing the British Penguin off the coast of Brazil. 

16. Already a treaty of peace had been 

made. In the summer of 1814, American T I! aty ^° 

^ . Ghent. 

commissioners were sent to Ghent, in Bel- 
gium, and were there met by the ambassadors of Great Brit- 
ain. The agents of the United States were John Quincy 
Adams, James A. Bayard, Henry Clay, Jonathan Russell, and 
Albert Gallatin. On the 24th of December a treaty was 
agreed to and signed. In both countries the news was received 
with deep satisfaction. On the 18th of February the treaty 
was ratified by the Senate, and peace was publicly proclaimed. 

17. The only significance of the treaty was that Great Brit- 
ain and the United States agreed to be at peace. Not one of 
the issues, to decide which the war had been undertaken, was 

i6.— U. S. Hist. 



242 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



even mentioned. Of the impressment of American seamen not 
a word was said. The wrongs done to the commerce of the 
United States were not referred to. Of " free trade and sailors' 
rights/' the battle-cry of the American navy, no mention was 
made. The treaty was chiefly devoted to the settlement of 
unimportant boundaries and the possession of some small 
islands in the Bay of Passamaquoddy. 

1 8. The country was now burdened with a war-debt of one 
hundred million dollars. The monetary affairs of the nation 
were in a deplorable condition. The charter of the Bank of 
the United States expired in 1811, and the other banks had 

been obliged to suspend specie payment. 
Condition of ™ 1 c , 1 , r 

the Country r e WaS P ara v zec * * or tne want °f money. 

In 1816 a bill was passed by Congress to re- 
charter the Bank of the United States. The President inter- 
posed his veto ; but in the following session the bill was again 
passed in an amended form. On the 4th of March, 1817, 
the bank went into operation ; and the business and credit of 
the country began to revive. 

19. During the war with Great Britain the 
Decatur in the A , . ■ , . j . 

u c+ + Algerme pirates renewed their depredations 

on American commerce. The government 
of the United States now ordered Commodore Decatur to 
proceed to the Mediterranean and chastise the sea-robbers into 
submission. After capturing two of their frigates he sailed 
into the Bay of Algiers, and obliged the frightened dey to 
make a treaty. The Moorish emperor released his Ameri- 
can prisoners, relinquished all claims to tribute, and gave a 
pledge that his ships should trouble American merchantmen 
no more. Decatur next sailed against Tunis and Tripoli, com- 
pelled these states to give pledges of good conduct, and to pay 
large sums for former depredations. 

20. The close of Madison's administration 
Admitted waS s ^ nanze< ^ tne admission of Indiana 

into the Union, The new commonwealth 



THE CAMPAIGNS OF 1814. 



243 



was admitted in December, 1816. About the same time was 
founded the Colonization Society of the United States. Many 
distinguished Americans became members of the association, 
the object of which was to provide a refuge for free persons 
of color. Liberia, in western Africa, was selected as the seat 
of the proposed colony. Immigrants arrived in sufficient 
numbers to found a flourishing negro State. The capital 
was named Monrovia, in honor of James Monroe, who, in the 
fall of 18 16, was elected as Madison's successor. Daniel D. 
Tompkins, of New York, was chosen Vice-president. 



CHAPTER XXXV. 



Monroe's Administration, i 817-1825. 



THE policy of Madison was adopted by his successor. 
The stormy times of the war gave place to many years 

of peace. The new Presi- 
dent was a native of Vir- 
ginia, a man of great 
talents and accomplish- 
ments. He had been a 
Revolutionary soldier, a 
member of Congress, gov- 
ernor of Virginia, envoy 
to France and England, 
and Secretary of State un- 
der Madison. The mem- 
bers of the cabinet were : 
John Quincy Adams, Sec- 
retary of State; William 
H. Crawford, Secretary of 
the Treasury; John C. Calhoun, Secretary of War; William 
Wirt, Attorney-general. Statesmen of all parties devoted their 
energies to the payment of the national debt. Commerce 
soon revived ; the government was economically administered, 
and in a few years the debt was honestly paid. 

2. In December of 18 1 7 Mississippi was or- 
ganized and admitted into the Union. The ^dStted* 
new State came with a population of sixty-five 
thousand souls. At the same time the attention of the govern- 
ment was called to a nest of pirates on Amelia Island, off the 
coast of Florida. An armament was sent against them, and 
(244) 




James Monroe. 



Monroe's administration, 1817-1825. 245 



the lawless establishment was broken up. Another company, 
on the island of Galveston, was also suppressed. 

3. The question of internal improvements now began to be 
agitated. Without railroads and canals the products of the 
interior could never reach a market. Whether Congress had a 
right to vote money to make public improvements was a 
question of debate. Among the States, New York took the 
lead in improvements by constructing a canal from Buffalo to 
Albany. The cost of the work was nearly eight million dollars. 

4. In 181 7 the Seminole Indians of Georgia 

and Alabama became hostile. Some negroes « « . , 

the Seminoles. 

and Creeks joined the savages m their depre- 
dations. General Jackson was ordered to reduce the Indians 
to submission. He mustered a thousand riflemen from Tennes- 
see, and in the spring of 18 18 completely overran the hostile 
country. 

5. While on this expedition, Jackson took possession of St. 
Mark's. The Spanish troops stationed there were removed to 
Pensacola. Two Englishmen, named Arbuthnot and Ambris- 
ter, charged with inciting the Seminoles* to insurrection, were 
tried by a court-martial and hanged. Jackson then captured 
Pensacola, and sent the Spanish authorities to Havana. The 
enemies of General Jackson condemned him for these proceed- 
ings, but the President and Congress justified 

his deeds. The king of Spain now proposed f Florida 
to cede Florida to the United States. On 
the 2 2d of February, 181 9, a treaty was concluded at Washing- 
ton City by which the whole province was surrendered to 
the American government. The United States agreed to re- 
linquish all claim to Texas, and to pay to American citizens, 
for depredations committed by Spanish vessels, five million 
dollars. 

6. In 1818 Illinois, the twenty-first State, w r as organized and 
admitted into the Union. The population of the new com- 
monwealth was forty-seven thousand. In December of 18 19 



246 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Alabama was added, with a population of one hundred and 
twenty-five thousand. About the same time Arkansas Terri- 

New States t0r ^ WaS or § an ^ ze( ^* ^ n I ^ 2 ° tne province 
of Maine was separated from Massachusetts 
and admitted into the Union. The population of the new 
State had reached two hundred and ninety-eight thousand. In 
August of 182 1 Missouri, with a population of about seventy- 
four thousand souls, was admitted as the twenty-fourth member 
of the Union. 

7. When the bill to admit Missouri was 

The Missouri brought before Congress, a proposition was 
Compromise. 

made to prohibit slavery in the new State. 

This was supported by the free States of the North, and 
opposed by the slaveholding States of the South. After 
long and angry debates the measure brought forward by 
Henry Clay, and known as the Missouri Compromise, was 
adopted. Its provisions were — first, the admission of Missouri 
as a slaveholding State; secondly, the division of the rest of the 
Louisiana purchase by the parallel of thirty-six degrees and 
thirty minutes; thirdly, the admission of new States south of 
that line, with or without slavery, as the people might deter- 
mine; fourthly, the prohibition of slavery in all the new States 
north of the dividing-line. 

8. The President's administration grew into high favor with 
the people; and in 1820 he was reelected. As Vice-president, 
Mr. Tompkins was again chosen„ The attention of the gov- 
ernment was next called to a system of piracy which had sprung 
up in the West Indies. Early in 1822 an American fleet was 
sent thither, and more than twenty piratical ships were cap- 
tured. In the following summer, Commodore Porter was 
dispatched with a larger squadron. The retreats of the sea- 
robbers were completely broken up. 

9. About this time many of the countries of South America 
declared their independence of foreign nations. The people 
of the United States sympathized with the patriots of the 



monroe's administration, 1817-1825. 247 



South. Henry Clay urged upon the government the duty of 

recognizing the South American republics. In March of 1822, 

a bill was passed by Congress embodying his 

views. In the President's message of 1823 _ _ 

& Doctrine, 

the declaration was made that the American 

continents are not subject to colonization by any European power. 
This is the principle ever since known as the Monroe Doc- 
trine. 

10. In the summer of 1824 the venerated La Fayette, now 
aged and gray, revisited 
the land for whose freedom 
he had shed his blood. The 
patriots who had fought by 
his side came forth to greet 
him. In every city he was 
surrounded by a throng 
of shouting freemen. His 
journey through the coun- 
try was a triumph. In Sep- 
tember of 1825 he bade 
adieu to the people, and 
sailed for his native land. 
While Liberty remains, the 
name of La Fayette shall 
be hallowed. 

11. In the fall of 1824 four candidates were presented for 
the presidency. John Quincy Adams was put forward as the 
candidate of the East ; William H. Crawford, of Georgia, as 
the choice of the South ; Henry Clay and Andrew Jackson as 
the favorites of the West. Neither candidate received a ma- 
jority of the electoral votes, and the choice of President was 
referred to the House of Representatives. By that body Mr. 
Adams was elected. For Vice-president, John C. Calhoun, of 
South Carolina, was chosen by the electoral college. 




CHAPTER XXXVL 



Adams's Administration, 182 5- 1829. 



THE new President was a man of the 
highest attainments in literature and 
Adams. 

statesmanship. At the age of eleven years 

he accompanied his father, John Adams, to Europe. At Paris, 
and Amsterdam, and St. Petersburg the son continued his 
studies, and became acquainted with the politics of the Old 

World. In his riper years, 



he served as ambassador 
to the Netherlands, Por- 
tugal, Prussia, Russia, and 
England. He had also 
held the offices of United 
States Senator, and Sec- 
retary of State. 

2. The new administra- 
tion was a time of peace; 
but the spirit of party 
manifested itself with much 
violence. The adherents 
of General Jackson and 
John Gtuincy Adams. Mr Crawford united in 

opposition to the President. In the Senate the political friends 
of Mr. Adams were in the minority, and their majority in the 
lower House lasted for only one session. In his inaugural 
address the President strongly advocated the doctrine of in- 
ternal improvements. 

3. When, in the year 1802, Georgia relinquished her claim 
to Mississippi Territory, the general government agreed to 
purchase for the State all the Creek lands lying within her 
(248) 




ADAMS'S ADMINISTRATION, 1825-1829. 249 



borders. This pledge the United States had 

. The Creek 

never fulfilled, and Georgia complained of cession 

bad faith. Finally, in March of 1826, a treaty- 
was concluded between the Creek chiefs and the President, 
by which a cession of all their lands in Georgia was obtained. 
At the same time, the Creeks agreed to remove beyond the 
Mississippi. 

4. On the 4th July, 1826 — fifty years after the Decla- 
ration of Independence — John Adams, second President, and 
his successor, Thomas Jefferson, died. Both had lifted their 
voices for freedom in the days of the Revolution. One 
had written, and both had signed, the great Declaration. Both 
had lived to see their country's independence. Both had 
reached extreme old age : Adams was ninety ; Jefferson, eighty- 
two. 

5. The question of the tariff was much dis- 
cussed in Congress at this time. By a tariff Tariff 
is understood a duty levied on imported goods. 

The object is — first , to produce a revenue for the govern- 
ment; and, secondly, to raise the price of the article on which 
the duty is laid, in order that the domestic manufacturer 
of the thing taxed may be able to compete with the foreign 
producer. When the duty is levied for the latter purpose it is 
called a protective tariff. Mr. Adams and his friends favored 
the tariff; and in 1828 protective duties were laid on fabrics 
made of wool, cotton, linen and silk; and those on articles 
manufactured of iron, lead, etc., were much increased. 

6. With the fall of 1828, Mr. Adams, supported by Mr. 
Clay, was put forward for reelection. General Jackson ap- 
peared as the candidate of the opposition. In the previous 
election Jackson had received more electoral votes than 
Adams, but the House of Representatives had chosen the latter. 
Now the people had their way. Jackson was triumphantly 
elected, receiving one hundred and seventy-eight electoral 
votes against eighty-three for his opponent. 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 



Jackson's Administration, i 829-1 837. 



National Bank 
Abolished. 



THE new President was a military hero — a man of great 
talents and inflexible honesty. His integrity was unassail- 
able ; his will like iron. He was one of those men for whom 
no toils are too arduous. His personal character was impressed 
upon his administration. At the beginning he removed nearly 
seven hundred ofhce-holders and appointed in their stead his 
own political friends. 

2. In his first message the President took 
ground against rechartering the Bank of the 
United States. He recommended that the 
old charter be allowed to expire by its own limitation in 1836. 
But the influence of the bank was very great; and in 1832 a 

bill to recharter was passed 
by Congress. The Presi- 
dent opposed his veto; a 
two thirds majority in favor 
of the bill could not be 
secured, and the new char- 
ter failed. 

3. In the congressional 
session of 1831-32, addi- 
tional tariffs were levied 
upon goods imported from 
abroad. By this act the 
manufacturing districts were 
favored at the expense of the 
agricultural States. South 
Carolina was specially offended. Open resistance was threat- 
ened in case the officers should attempt to collect the revenues 
(250) 




Andrew Jackson. 



jackson's administration, 1829-1837. 251 



at Charleston. In the United States Senate 
the right of a State to nullify an act of Con- Debates 
gress was boldly proclaimed. On that question 
had already occurred the great debate between Colonel Hayne, 
senator from South Carolina, and Daniel Webster of Massa- 
chusetts. 

4. The President now 
took the matter in hand 
and issued a proclamation 
denying the right of a State 
to nullify the laws of Con- 
gress. But Mr. Calhoun, the 
Vice-president, resigned his 
office to accept a seat in the 
Senate, where he might de- 
fend the doctrines of his 
State. The President, hav- 
ing warned the South Caro- 
linians, ordered a body of 
troops under General Scott 
to proceed to Charleston. 
The leaders of the nullifying party receded from their position, 
and bloodshed was avoided. 

5. The lands of the Sacs and Foxes had 

been purchased by the government, but the K^wkWar 
Indians, influenced by the chief Black Hawk, 
refused to quit them. The government insisted that they ful- 
fill their contract, and hostilities began in 1832. General Scott 
was sent with troops to Chicago to cooperate with General 
Atkinson. The latter waged a vigorous campaign, defeated 
the Indians, and made Black Hawk prisoner. The captive 
chief was taken to Washington and the great cities of the 
East. Returning to his own people, he advised them to make* 
peace. The warriors abandoned the disputed lands and 
retired into Iowa. 




Daniel Webster. 



252 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



6. Difficulties also arose with the Cherokees of Georgia — - 
the most civilized of all the Irfdian nations. The President 
recommended the removal of the Cherokees to lands beyond 
the Mississippi. The Indian Territory was accordingly 
set apart in 1834. The Indians yielded with great reluctance. 
More than five million dollars was paid them for their lands. 
At last General Scott was ordered to remove them; and during 
the years 1837-38,^16 Cherokees were transferred to their new 
homes in the West. 

7. More serious was the conflict with the 
War Seminoles. The trouble arose from an attempt 

to remove the tribe beyond the Mississippi. 
Hostilities began in 1835, an d continued for four years. Osceola 
and Micanopy, chiefs of the nation, denied the validity of a 
former cession of Seminole lands. General Thompson was 
obliged to arrest Osceola and put him in irons. The chief then 
gave his assent to the old treaty, and was liberated, but imme- 
diately entered into a conspiracy to slaughter the whites. 

8. Major Dade, with a hundred and seventeen men, was 
now dispatched to reinforce General Clinch at Fort Drane, 
seventy-five miles from St. Augustine. Dade's forces fell into 
an ambuscade, and all except one man were massacred. On 
the same day Osceola, with a band of warriors, surrounded a 
storehouse where General Thompson was dining, and killed 
him and four of his companions. 

9. In two successive engagements in December and Febru- 
ary the Seminoles were repulsed. In October Governor Call 
of Florida, with two thousand men, overtook the savages in 
the Wahoo Swamp, near the scene of Dade's massacre. Here 
the Indians were again defeated and driven into the Everglades. 

10. In the mean time, the President had put an end to the 
Bank of the United States. After vetoing the bill to recharter 
that institution, he conceived that the surplus funds which had 
accumulated in its vaults had better be distributed among 
the States. Accordingly, in October of 1833 he ordered the 



jackson's administration, 1829-1837. 



253 



funds of the bank, amounting to ten million dollars, to be dis- 
tributed among certain State banks designated for that purpose. 
The financial panic of 1836-37, following soon afterward, was 
attributed by the Whigs to the destruction of the national 
bank and the removal of the funds. But the adherents of the 
President replied that the panic was attributable to the bank 
itself. 

11. In 1834 the strong will of the chief magistrate was 
brought into conflict with France. In 1831 the French king 
had agreed to pay five million dollars for injuries formerly 
done to American commerce. But the government of France 
neglected the payment until the President recommended to 
Congress to make reprisals on French merchantmen. This 
measure had the desired effect, and the indemnity was paid.. 
Portugal was brought to terms in a similar manner. 

12. In June of 1836, Arkansas, with a 
population of seventy thousand, was admitted Arkansas and 
into the Union. In the following January, Emitted 
Michigan Territory was organized as a State 

and added to the Republic. The new commonwealth brought 
a population of one hundred and fifty-seven thousand. In the 
autumn of 1836 Martin Van Buren was elected President. 
As to the Vice-presidency, no one secured a majority, and the 
choice devolved on the Senate. By that body Colonel 
Richard M. Johnson of Kentucky was chosen. 



CHAPTER XXXVIII. 



Van Buren's Administration, i 837-1 841. 

MARTIN VAN BUREN, eighth President, was born at 
Kinderhook, New York, on the 5th of December, 1782. 

After receiving a limited 
education he became a stu- 
dent of law. In 182 1 he 
was chosen United States 
Senator. Seven years after- 
ward he was elected gov- 
ernor of New York, and 
was then appointed Minister 
to England. From that im- 
portant mission he returned 
to accept the office of Vice- 
president. 

2. One of the first duties 
of the new administration 
was to finish the Seminole 
War. In the fall, Osceola 
came to the American camp with a flag of truce ; but he was sus- 
pected of treachery, seized and sent a prisoner to Fort Moultrie, 
where he died. The Seminoles, however, con- 
Taylor s Campaign t j nue( j ^ Q war> j n D ecem b er Colonel Zach- 
m Florida. 

ary Taylor, with a thousand men, marched 
into the Everglades of Florida, and overtook the savages near 
Lake Okeechobee. A hard battle was fought, and the Indians 
were defeated. For more than a year Taylor continued to 
hunt them through the swamps. In 1839 a treaty was signed, 
and the Seminoles were slowly removed to the West, 
(254) 




Martin Van Buren. 



van buren's administration, 1837-1841. 



2 S5 



3. In 1837 the country was afflicted with a serious monetary 
panic. The preceding years had been a time of great pros- 
perity. A surplus of nearly forty million dollars, in the national 
treasury, had been distributed among the States. Owing to 
the abundance of money, the credit system was greatly ex- 
tended. The banks of the country were multiplied to seven 
hundred. Vast issues of irredeemable paper money increased 
the opportunities for fraud. 

4. The bills of these unsound banks were 
receivable for the public lands. Seeing that ^jpanic^ 
the government was likely to be defrauded 

out of millions, President Jackson issued an order, called the 
Specie Circular, by which the land agents were directed to 
receive nothing but coin in payment for the lands. The effects 
of this circular followed in the first year of Van Buren's ad- 
ministration. The banks suspended specie payment. In the 
spring of 1837, the failures in New York and New Orleans 
amounted to one hundred and fifty million dollars. 

5. When Congress convened in the following September, a 
bill authorizing the issue of ten millions of dollars in treasury 
notes was passed as a temporary expedient. More important 
by far was the measure proposed by the President under the 
name of the Independent Treasury Bill, by which the 
public funds were to be kept in a treasury established for that 
special purpose. It was the President's plan thus to separate 
the business of the United States from the general business of 
the country. 

6. The Independent Treasury Bill was at first defeated, but 
in the following regular session of Congress the bill was again 
brought forward and adopted. During the year 1838 the 
banks resumed specie payments. But trade was less vigorous 
than before. Discontent prevailed ; and the administration was 
blamed with everything. 

7. In the after part of 1837 a portion of the people of 
Canada attempted to establish their independence. The insur- 



256 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

gents found sympathy in the United States. Seven hundred 
men from New York seized and fortified Navy Island, in the 

Niagara River. The loyalists of Canada, 
Inspection. however, succeeded in firing the Caroline, 

the supply ship of the adventurers, cut her 
moorings, and sent the burning vessel over Niagara Falls. 
For a while the peaceful relations of the United States and 
Great Britain were endangered. But the President issued a 
proclamation of neutrality, forbidding further interference with 
the affairs of Canada. 

8. Mr. Van Buren became a candidate for reelection, and 
received the support of the Democratic party. The Whigs 
put forward General Harrison. The canvass was one of the 
most exciting in the history of the country. Harrison was 
elected. After controlling the government for forty years, the 
Democratic party was temporarily overthrown. For Vice- 
president, John Tyler of Virginia was chosen. 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 



Administrations of Harrison and Tyler, i 841-1845. 




William H. Harrison. 



John Tyler. 



PRESIDENT HARRISON was a Virginian by birth, the 
adopted son of Robert Morris. He was graduated at 
Hampden-Sidney College, and afterwards entered the army of 
St. Clair. He became governor of Indiana Territory, which 
office he filled with great ability. He began his duties as 
President by calling a special session of Congress. An able 
cabinet was organized, with Daniel Webster as Secretary of 
State. Everything promised well for the new 

Whig administration ; but before Congress „ _ . 

°. Pres. Harrison, 

could convene, the President, now sixty-eight 

years of age, fell sick, and died just one month after his inaug- 
uration. On the 6th of April Mr. Tyler became President of 
the United States. 

17.— U. S. Hist. (257) 



2 5 8 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



2. He was a statesman of considerable distinction; a native 
of Virginia; a graduate of William and Mary College. In 
1825 he was elected governor of Virginia, and from that 
position he was sent to the Senate of the United States. He 
had been put upon the ticket with General Harrison through 
motives of expediency ; for although a Whig in political prin- 
ciples, he was known to be hostile to the United States Bank, 

3. One of the first measures of the new Congress was the 
repeal of the Independent Treasury Bill. A bankrupt law was 
then passed for the relief of insolvent business men. The next 
measure was the rechartering of the Bank of the United States. 
A bill for that purpose was brought forward and passed ; but 
the President interposed his veto. Again the bill received the 
assent of both Houses, only to be rejected by the executive. 
By this action a rupture was produced between the President 
and the party which had elected him. All the members of the 
cabinet, except Mr. Webster, resigned their offices. 

4. A difficulty now arose with Great Britain about the 
northeastern boundary of the United States. Since the treaty 

of 1783 that boundary had been in question. 

. , , , m Lord Ashburton, on the part of Great Britain, 

Ashburton Treaty. 7 1 7 

and Mr. Webster, on the part of the United 
States, were called upon to settle the dispute. They performed 
their work in a manner honorable to both nations ; and the 
present boundary was established. 

5. In the next year, the country was vexed with a domestic 
trouble in Rhode Island. By the terms of the old charter of 
that State the right of suffrage was restricted to property- 
holders. A proposition was now agreed upon to change the 
constitution, but in respect to the manner of annulling the old 
charter there was a division. 

6. In 1842 the "law and order party," 
Rebellion un der Governor King, undertook to suppress 
the " suffrage party " under Thomas W. Dorr. 
The latter resisted, and made an attempt to capture the State 



ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER, 1841-1845. 



2 59 



arsenal. But the militia drove the assailants away. Dorr was 
arrested, tried for treason, and sentenced to imprisonment for 
life. He was set at liberty again in 1845. 

7. About the same time, a difficulty occurred m , 

' _ _, TT ' _ ■ \ r The Mormons, 

with the Mormons, under the leadership of 

Joseph Smith, they first settled in Missouri. But the people of 

Missouri opposed them. The militia was called out, and the 

Mormons crossed into Illinois, and laid out the city of Nauvoo. 

But serious troubles soon arose with the people of Illinois. 

Smith and his brother were arrested and lodged in jail. In 

1844 a mob broke open the jail doors and killed the prisoners. 

Two years later the Mormons resolved to leave the States. 

They made a toilsome march to the far West; crossed the 

Rocky Mountains ; reached the Great Salt Lake ; and founded 

Utah Territory. 

8. Meanwhile, a great agitation had arisen in regard to 
Texas. From 182 1 to 1836 this vast territory had been a prov- 
ince of Mexico. In the year 1835 the Texans raised the stand- 
ard of rebellion. In a battle at Gonzales, a thousand Mexicans 




Fall of Crockett in the Alamo. 



260 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



were defeated by a Texan force of five hundred. On the 6th 
of March, 1836, the Texan fort Alamo was surrounded by eight 
thousand Mexicans, led by Santa Anna. The garrison was over- 
powered and massacred. The daring David Crockett was one 
of the victims of the butchery. In the next month was fought 
the decisive battle of San Jacinto, which gave to Texas her 
independence. 

9. Texas now asked to be admitted into 

Texas applies ^ e Um 0I L At first the proposition was de- 
fer Admission. . 1 1 

clined by President Van Buren. In 1844 tne 

question of annexation was again agitated ; and on that 
question the people divided in the presidential election. The 
annexation was favored by the Democrats, and opposed by 
the Whigs. James K. Polk of Tennessee was put forward as 
the Democratic candidate ; while the Whigs chose their favor- 
ite leader, Henry Clay. The former was elected ; for Vice- 
president, George M. Dallas of Pennsylvania was chosen. 

10. On the 29th of May, 1844, the news of the nomina- 
tion of Mr. Polk was sent from Baltimore to Washington by 
the Magnetic Telegraph. It was the first dispatch ever so 
transmitted ; and the event marks an era in the history of 
civilization. The inventor of the telegraph, which has proved 
so great a blessing to mankind, was Professor Samuel F. B. 
Morse of Massachusetts. Perhaps no other invention has 
exercised so beneficent an influence on the welfare of the 
human race. 

11. When Congress convened in December 

T^rFbridi ° f l844 ' a bil1 t0 annex TexaS t0 the United 
and Iowa. ' States was brought forward, and, on the first 

of the following March, was passed. The 

President immediately gave his assent; and, on the 29th of 

December, Texas took her place in the Republic. On the 

3d of March in this year, bills for the admission of Florida 

and Iowa were also signed; but the latter State was not for* 

mally admitted until December 28th, 1846. 



CHAPTER XL. 



Polk's Administration and the Mexican War, 1845-49. 



Causes of 
Mexican War. 



PRESIDENT POLK was a native of North Carolina. In 
boyhood he removed with his father to Tennessee, and in 
1839 rose to the position of governor of that State. At the head 
of his cabinet he placed James Buchanan of Pennsylvania. 

2. A war with Mexico was at hand. On the 4th of July, 
1845, the Texan legislature ratified the act of 
annexation. The Mexican minister at Wash- 
ington immediately left the country. The 
authorities of Texas sent an urgent request to the President 
to dispatch an army for their protection. Accordingly, Gen- 
eral Zachary Taylor was or- 
dered to march thither from 
Louisiana. Texas claimed 
the Rio Grande as her west- 
ern limit, while Mexico was 
determined to have the 
Nueces as the separating 
line. The government of 
the United States resolved 
to support the claim of Texas. 
General Taylor was sent to 
the mouth of the Nueces, and 
in January, 1846, he moved 
forward to the mouth of the 
Rio Grande, and built Fort 
Brown. 

3. On the 26th of April a company of American dragoons 
was attacked by the Mexicans, east of the Rio Grande, and 

(261) 




James K. Polk. 



262 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



was obliged to surrender. This was the first bloodshed of 

the war. General Taylor hastened to Point Isabel and 

strengthened the defenses. This done, he set out with a 

provision-train and an army of two thousand men to return to 

Fort Brown. Meanwhile, the Mexicans had 

Palo Alto and crossed the Rio Grande and taken a position 

Resaca at p alo ^lto. On the 8th of May the Ameri- 

u6 ia it alma. 

cans came in sight and joined battle. After 
a severe engagement the Mexicans were driven from the 
field. 

4. On the following day General Taylor resumed his 
march, and came upon the Mexicans again at a place called 
Resaca de la Palma. Here the enemy fought better than on 
the previous day. The American lines were severely galled 
until Captain May's dragoons charged through a storm of 
grape-shot, rode over the Mexican batteries, and captured La 
Vega, the commanding general. The Mexicans, abandoning 
their guns, fled in a general rout. 

q. When the news from the Rio Grande 

War 

was borne through the Union, the war spirit 
was everywhere aroused. On the nth of 
May, 1846, Congress made a declaration of war. The Pres- 
ident was authorized to accept fifty thousand volunteers, 
and ten million dollars was placed at his disposal. Nearly 
three hundred thousand men rushed forward to enter the 
ranks. 

6. The American forces were organized in three divisions: 
the Army of the West, under General Kearny, to cross 
the Rocky Mountains against the northern Mexican provinces ; 
the Army of the Center, under General Scott as comman- 
der-in-chief, to march from the Gulf coast into the heart of the 
enemy's country; the Army of Occupation, under General 
Taylor, to hold the districts on the Rio Grande. 

7. Ten days after the battle of Resaca de la Palma General 
Taylor captured Matamoras, and in August laid siege to 



THE MEXICAN WAR, 1 846. 



263 



Monterey. 



storming parties charged into the 



Monterey. On the 21st of September the 
Americans carried the heights in the rear of 
the town. The Bishop's Palace was taken by storm on the 
following day. On the 23d the city was successfully assaulted 
in front. The American 
town ; hoisted the victo- 
rious flag of the Union; 
turned upon the build- 
ings where the Mexicans 
were concealed; charged 
up dark stairways to the 
flat roofs of the houses ; 
and drove the enemy to 
a surrender. 

8. General Santa Anna 
was now called home 
from Havana to take 
the presidency of Mex- 
ico. A Mexican army of 
twenty thousand men was 
sent into the field. Gen- 
eral Taylor again moved 
forward, and on the 15th 
of November captured 
the town of Saltillo. Victoria, a city in the province of Tam- 
aulipas, was taken by General Patterson. 

9. In June of 1846 the Army of the West, led by General 
Kearny, set out from Fort Leavenworth for the conquest of New 
Mexico and California. After a wearisome march he reached 
Santa Fe, and on the 18th of August captured the city. With 
four hundred dragoons Kearny continued his march toward the 
Pacific coast to find that California had already been subdued. 

10. For four years Colonel John C. Fre- 
mont had been exploring the country west 
of the Rocky Mountains. In California he 




John Charles Fremont. 



Conquest of 
California. 



264 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



received dispatches informing him of the war with Mexico, 
and began to urge the people of California to declare their in- 
dependence. A campaign was begun to overthrow the Mexican 
authority. Meanwhile, Commodore Sloat had captured the 
town of Monterey, on the coast. A few days afterward Com- 
modore Stockton took San Diego. Before the end of summer 
the whole of California was subdued. On the 8th of January, 
1847, the Mexicans were decisively defeated in the battle of 
San Gabriel, by which the authority of the United States was 
completely established. 

_ „. 11. General Scott now arrived in Mexico 

Buena Vista. 

and ordered the Army of Occupation to join 
him on the Gulf for the conquest of the capital. This left 
Taylor and Wool in a critical condition at Monterey; for 
Santa Anna was advancing against them with twenty thousand 
men. General Taylor was able to concentrate at Saltillo an 
effective force of but four thousand eight hundred. At the 
head of this small army he chose a battlefield at Buena Vista. 
On the 23d of February the battle began. Against tremendous 
odds the field was fairly won by the Americans. The Mexi- 
cans, having lost nearly two thousand men, made a precipitate 
retreat. 

12. On the 9th of March, 1847, General 

V©ra Cruz and 

„ „ Scott, with twelve thousand men, landed to 
Cerro Gordo. ' . 

the south of Vera Cruz, and invested the city. 

On the morning of the 2 2d a cannonade was begun. On the 
waterside, Vera Cruz was defended by the castle of San Juan 
d'Ulloa. For four days the bombardment continued without 
cessation. An assault was already planned, when the authori- 
ties of the city proposed capitulation. On the 27th the Amer- 
ican flag was raised over Vera Cruz. 

13. The route to the capital was now open. On the 12th of 
the month General Twiggs came upon Santa Anna, with fifteen 
thousand men, on the heights of Cerro Gordo. On the 18th, 
the American army advanced to the assault ; and before noon- 



THE MEXICAN WAR, — 1847. 



265 



day every position of the Mexicans had been successfully 
stormed. Nearly three thousand prisoners were taken, together 
with forty-three pieces 



of bronze artillery. 

14. On the next day 
the victorious army 
entered Jalapa. The 
strong castle of Perote 
was taken without 
resistance. Turning 
southward, General 
Scott next entered the 
ancient city of Puebla, 
no opposition being en- 
countered. Scott here 
waited for reinforce- 
ments from Vera Cruz. 
On the 7th of August 
General Scott began 
his march upon the cap- 
ital. The army swept 
through the passes of 
the Cordilleras to look 
down on the Valley 
of Mexico. 

15. The city of Mexico 




ChuraDusuo^ 



Coutv 



> ^ : Vera Cruz^ 



Operations in Mexico. 

could be ap- 



proached only by causeways leading across Mexico ^ 
marshes and the beds of bygone lakes. At 
the ends of these causeways were massive gates strongly de- 
fended. To the left were Contreras, San Antonio, and Mo- 
lino del Rey. Directly in front were the powerful defences of 
Churubusco and Chapultepec. 

16. On the 20th of August Generals Pillow and Twiggs 
stormed the Mexican position at Contreras. A few hours after- 
wards General Worth carried San Antonio. General Pillow led 



266 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 




Scott's Army Entering the City of Mexico. 



a column against one of the heights of Churubusco ; and after 
a terrible assault the position was carried. General Twiggs 
stormed another height of Churubusco. Still another victory 
was achieved by Generals Shields and Pierce, who defeated 
Santa Anna's reserves. 

17. On the morning after the battles the Mexican authori- 
ties came out to negotiate. General Scott rejected their pro- 
posals. On the 8th of September General Worth stormed the 



THE MEXICAN WAR, — 1 847-48. 



267 



western defences of Chapultepec, and on the 13th that citadel 
itself was carried by storm. 

18. On the following morning forth came a deputation from 
the city to beg for mercy ; but General Scott, tired of trifling, 
turned them away with contempt. " Forward !" was the order 
that rang along the lines at sunrise. The war-worn regiments 
swept into the famous city, and at seven o'clock the flag of 
the Union floated over the halls of the Montezumas. 

19. On leaving his capital, Santa Anna turned about to 
attack the hospitals at Puebla. Here eighteen hundred sick 
men had been left in charge of Colonel Childs. A gallant 
resistance was made by the garrison, until General Lane, on 
his march to the capital, fell upon the besiegers and scattered 
them. It was the closing stroke of the war. 

20. The military power of Mexico was com- 
pletely broken. In the winter of 1847-48, Treaty of 

American ambassadors met the Mexican Con- Guadalupe 

Hidalgo. 

gressat Guadalupe Hidalgo, and on the 2d of 
February a treaty was concluded. By the terms of settlement 
the boundary-line between Mexico and the United States was 
established on the Rio Grande from its mouth to the southern 
limit of New Mexico ; thence westward along the southern, 
and northward along the western boundary of that territory 
to the Gila ; thence down that river to the Colorado ; thence 
westward to the Pacific. New Mexico and Upper California 
were relinquished to the United States. Mexico guaranteed 
the free navigation of the Gulf of California and the river 
Colorado. The United States agreed to surrender all places 
in Mexico, to pay that country fifteen million dollars, and to 
assume all debts due from Mexico to American citizens. 

21. A few days, after the signing of the treaty, a laborer, 
employed by Captain Sutter on the American fork of Sacra- 
mento River, in California, discovered some pieces of gold in the 
sand. The news went flying to the ends of the world. Men 
thousands of miles away were crazed with excitement. From 



268 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



all quarters adventurers came flocking. Before 
California and t j ie en( j f San Francisco had grown to 

Wisconsin ^ e ^ ^ ^ £f teen thousand inhabitants. In 
Admitted. 

September of that year, California was admitted 
into the Union; and by the close of 1852, the State had a 
population of more than a quarter of a million. 

22. In 1848 Wisconsin was admitted into the Union. The 
new commonwealth came with a population of two hundred 
and fifty thousand. Another presidential election was already 
at hand. General Lewis Cass, of Michigan, was nominated by 
the Democrats, and General Zachary Taylor by the Whigs. 
As the candidate of the new Free Soil party, ex- President 
Martin Van Buren was put forward. The memory of his recent 
victories in Mexico made General Taylor the favorite with the 
people, and he was elected by a large majority. As Vice- 
president, Millard Fillmore, of New York, was chosen. 



CHAPTER XLI. 



Administrations of Taylor and Fillmore, 1849 -1853. 



THE new President was a Virginian by birth, a soldier by 
profession. During the war of 18 12 he distinguished 
himself in the Northwest. In the Seminole War he bore a part, 
but earned his greatest renown in Mexico. His administration 
began with a violent agitation on the question of slavery in 
the territories. 

2. In his first message the President advised 

the people of California to prepare for admis- the territories 
sion into the Union. The advice was promptly 
accepted. A convention was held at Monterey in September 
of 1849. A constitution prohibiting slavery was framed, sub- 
mitted to the people, and 
adopted. 

3. When the question of 
admitting California came 
before Congress the mem- 
bers were section ally di- 
vided. The admission of 
the new State was favored 
by the representatives of the 
North, and opposed by those 
of the South. The latter 
claimed that, with the exten- 
sion of the Missouri Com- 
promise to the Pacific, the 
right to introduce slavery 
into California was guaran- Zachary Taylor> 

teed by the general government, and that therefore the pro- 

(269) 




270 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



The Omnibus 
Bill. 



posed constitution of the State ought to be rejected. The reply 
of the North was that the Missouri Compromise had respect 
only to the Louisiana purchase, and that the Californians had 
framed their constitution in their own way. 

4, Other questions added fuel to the controversy. Texas 
claimed New Mexico as a part of her territory, and the claim 
was resisted by the people of Santa Fe. The people of the 
South complained that fugitive slaves were aided and encour- 
aged in the North. The opponents of slavery demanded the 
abolition of the slave-trade in the District of Columbia. 

5. Henry Clay appeared as a peacemaker. 
On the 9th of May, 1850, he brought for- 
ward, as a compromise, the Omnibus Bill, 
of which the provisions were as follows : first, the admis- 
sion of California as a free State ; second, the formation 

of new States, not exceed- 
ing four in number, out of 
Texas, said States to permit or 
exclude slavery as the people 
should determine ; third, the 
organization of territorial gov- 
ernments for New Mexico and 
Utah, without conditions as to 
slavery; fourth, the establish- 
ment of the present boundary 
between Texas and New Mex- 
ico; fifth, the enactment of a 
stringent law for the recovery 
of fugitive slaves; sixth, the 
abolition of the slave-trade in 
the District of Columbia. 
6. When the Omnibus Bill was laid before Congress, the de- 
bates broke out anew. While the discussion was at its height, 
President Taylor fell sick, and died on the 9th of July, 1850. 
Mr. Fillmore at once took the oath of office and entered upon 






illard Fillmore. 



fillmore's administration, 1849-53. 



271 



the duties of the Presidency. A new cabinet was formed, with 
Daniel Webster at the head as Secretary of State. 

7. On the 1 8th of September the compromise proposed by 
Mr. Clay was adopted, and received the sanction of the Presi- 
dent. The excitement in the country rapidly abated, and the 
controversy seemed at an end. Shortly afterwards Mr. Clay 
bade adieu to the Senate, and sought at Ashland a brief rest 
from the cares of public life. 

8. The year i8co was marked by an at- 

c a • A . \ "Filibustering" 

tempt of some American adventurers to con- . 

1 in Cuba. 

quer Cuba. It was thought that the Cubans 
were anxious to annex themselves to the United States. Gen- 
eral Lopez organized an expedition in the South, and on the 
19th of May, 1850, effected a landing in Cuba. But there was 
no uprising in his favor ; and he was obliged to return to Flor- 
ida. Renewing the attempt, he and his band were defeated 
and captured by the Spaniards. Lopez and the ringleaders 
were taken to Havana and executed. 

9. In 1852 a serious trouble arose with England. By the 
terms of former treaties the coast-fisheries of Newfoundland 
belonged to Great Britain. But, outside of a line drawn three 
miles from the shore, American fishermen enjoyed equal rights. 
A quarrel now arose as to how the line should be drawn 
across the bays and inlets ; and both nations sent men-of-war 
to the contested waters. But in 1854 the difficulty was settled 
happily by negotiation ; and the right to take fish in the bays 
of the British possessions was conceded to American fishermen. 

10. During the summer of 1852 the Hungarian patriot 
Louis Kossuth made a tour of the United States. He came 
to plead the cause of Hungary before the American people, 
and was everywhere received with expressions of sympathy and 
good-will. But the policy of the United States forbade the 
government to interfere on behalf of the Hungarian patriots. 

11. The attention of the American people was next directed 
to explorations in the Arctic Ocean. In 1845 Sir John Franklin, 



272 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



a brave English seaman, went on a voyage of discovery to the 

North. Years went by, and no tidings came from the daring 

sailor. Other expeditions were sent in search, but returned 

without success. In 1853 an Arctic squadron was equipped, 

the command of which was given to Dr. Eli6ha 

« ... ' .... Kent Kane: but the expedition returned with- 
Arctic Expedition. ' 1 

out the discovery of Franklin. 

12. During the administrations of Taylor and Fillmore, 
many distinguished men fell by the hand of death. On the 
31st of March, 1850, John C. Calhoun of South Carolina 
passed away. His death was much lamented, especially in his 
own State, to whose interests he had devoted the energies of 
his life. Then followed the death of the President; and then, 
on the 28th June, 1852, the great Henry Clay sank to rest. 
On the 24th of the following October, Daniel Webster died at 
his home at Marshfield, Massachusetts. The office of Secretary 
of State was then conferred on Edward Everett. 

13. The political parties again marshaled their forces. 
Franklin Pierce of New Hampshire appeared as the candidate 
of the Democratic party, and General Winfield Scott as the 
choice of the Whigs. The question at issue before the coun- 
try was the Compromise Act of 1850. Both the Whig and 
Democratic platforms stoutly reaffirmed the doctrines of the 
Omnibus Bill. A third party arose, however, whose members 
declared that all the Territories of the United States ought to 
be free. John P. Hale of New Hampshire was put forward as 
the candidate of this Free Soil party. Mr. Pierce was elected 
by a large majority, and William R. King of Alabama was 
chosen Vice-president. 



CHAPTER XLII. 



Pierce's Administration, i 853-1 857. 



THE new chief magistrate was a native of New Hampshire, 
a graduate of Bowdoin College, and a statesman of con- 
siderable abilities. On ac- 
count of ill health, Mr. King, 
the Vice-president, was so- 
journing in Cuba. Growing 
more feeble, he returned to 
Alabama, where he died in 
April, 1853. William L. 
Marcy of New York was 
chosen as Secretary of State. 

2. In 1853 a corps of en- 
gineers was sent out to explore 
the route for a Pacific Rail- 
road. The enterprise was 
at first regarded as visionary 
and impossible. In the same 
year, the southwestern boun- 
dary was settled, by purchase of the claim of Mexico. The 
territory thus acquired is known as the Gadsden Purchase. 

3. In the same year intercourse was opened 
between the United States and Japan. Hitherto 
the Japanese ports had been closed against the 
vessels of Christian nations. In order to remove this restriction, 
Commodore Perry sailed into the Bay of Yeddo, and prepared 
the way for a treaty, by which the privileges of commerce were 
granted to American merchantmen. 

18.— U. S. Hist. (273) 




Franklin Pierce. 



Perry 
in Japan. 



274 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



4. On the very day of Perry's introduction to the Emperor, 
the Crystal Palace was opened in New York for the World's 
Fair. The palace was built of iron and glass. Specimens of 
the arts and manufactures of all nations were put on exhibition 
within the building. 

5. In January of 1854, Senator Douglas of 
Nebraska Bill Illinois brought forward a proposition to or- 
ganize Kansas and Nebraska. A clause was 
inserted in the bill providing that the people of the territories 
should decide for themselves whether the new States should be 
free or slaveholding. This was a repeal of the Missouri Com- 
promise of 182 1. After several months' debate, Mr. Douglas's 
Kansas-Nebraska Bill, was finally passed. 

6. Whether Kansas should admit slavery now depended 
upon the vote of the people. The territority was soon filled 
with an agitated mass of people, thousands of whom had been 
sent thither io vote. In the elections of 1854-55, the pro-slavery 

party was triumphant. The State Legislature 
Disturbances . t r , ... . 

. TJP at Lecompton framed a constitution permit- 

in Kansas. . . 1 

ting slavery. The Free Soil party, declaring 

the elections to have been illegal, assembled at Topeka, and 
framed a constitution excluding slavery. Civil war broke out 
between the factions. The hostile parties were quieted, but 
the agitation extended to all parts of the Union. The Kansas 
question became the issue in the presidential election of 1856. 

7. James Buchanan of Pennsylvania was nominated as the 
Democratic candidate. He planted himself on the Kansas- 
Nebraska Bill, and secured a heavy vote both North and 
South. As the candidate of the Free Soil or People's party, 
John C. Fremont of California was brought forward. The ex- 
clusion of slavery from all the Territories was the principle 
of the Free Soil platform. The American or Know Nothing 
party nominated Millard Fillmore. Mr. Buchanan was elected 
by a large majority, while the choice for the Vice-presidency 
fell on John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky. 



CHAPTER XLIII. 



Buchanan's Administration, i 857—1 861 . 



Trouble with 
the Mormons. 



JAMES BUCHANAN was a native of Pennsylvania, born on 
the 13th of April, 1791. In 183 1 he was appointed Min- 
ister to Russia, was afterwards senator of the United States, 
and Secretary of State under President Polk. In 1853 he 
received the appointment of Minister to Great Britain. As 
Secretary of State in the new cabinet, General Lewis Cass of 
Michigan was chosen. 

2. In the first year of Buchanan's admin- 
istration, serious trouble occurred with the 
Mormons concerning the enforcement of the 
authority of the United States over Utah. An army was sent 
to the Territory in 1857 to compel obedience. For awhile the 
Mormons resisted ; but when 
the President proclaimed a 
pardon to all who would 
submit, they yielded; and 
order was restored. 

3. The 5th of August, 
1858, was noted for the com- 
pletion of the first tele- 
graphic cable across the 
Atlantic. The success of this 
great work was due to the 
genius of Cyrus W. Field of 
New York. The cable was 
stretched from Trinity Bay, 
Newfoundland, to Valencia 
Bay, Ireland. After successful operation for a few weeks the 
cable ceased to work. In 1858 Minnesota was added to the 

(275) 




James Buchanan. 



276 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES, 



Union. The population of the new State was 
Admission of a hundred and fifty thousand. In the next year, 
Oregon Oregon, the thirty- third State, was admitted, 

with a population of forty-eight thousand. 

4. The slavery question continued to vex the nation. In 
1857 the Supreme Court of the United States, after hearing 
the cause of Dred Scott, formerly a slave, decided that negroes 
are not and can not become citizens. Thereupon, in several 
of the free States, Personal Liberty Bills were passed, to 
defeat the Fugitive Slave Law. In the fall of 1859, John Brown 
of Kansas, with a party of twenty-one daring men, captured 

the arsenal at Harper's Ferry, and held his 
° Raid^ 8 g r o un d for two days. The national troops 

were called out to suppress the revolt. Thir- 
teen of Brown's men were killed, two made their escape, and 
the rest were captured. The leader and his six companions were 
tried by the authorities of Virginia, condemned and hanged. 

5. In the presidential canvass of i860 the candidate of the 
Republican party was Abraham Lincoln of Illinois. The dis- 
tinct principle of this party was opposition to the extension 
of slavery, In April the Democratic convention assembled 
at Charleston ; but the Southern delegates withdrew from the 
assembly. The rest adjourned to Baltimore and chose Dou- 
glas as their standard-bearer. There, also, the delegates from 

the South reassembled in June, and nominated 

... _. . John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky. The 
Abraham Lincoln. J . . 

American party chose as their candidate John 

Bell of Tennessee. The contest resulted in the election of Mr. 
Lincoln. 

6. The leaders of the South had declared that the choice of 
Lincoln for the presidency would be a just cause for the disso- 
lution of the Union. A majority of the cabinet, and a large 
number of senators and representatives in Congress, were advo- 
cates of disunion. It was seen that all the departments of the 
government would shortly pass under the control of the Re- 



Buchanan's administration, 1857-1861. 277 



publican party. President Buchanan was not himself a dis- 
unionist; but he declared himself not armed with the consti- 
tutional power to prevent secession by force. 

7. On the 1 7fh of December, i860, a con- 
vention met at Charleston, and after three _ A . 

Southern States. 

days passed a resolution thai the union hitherto 
existing between South Carolina and the other States was dis- 
solved. The sentiment of disunion spread with great rapidity. 
By the first of February, 1861, six other States — Mississippi, 
Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas — had all 
passed ordinances of secession. Nearly all the senators and 
representatives of those States resigned their seats in Congress 
and gave themselves to the disunion cause. 

8. In the secession conventions a few of the speakers de- 
nounced disunion as bad and ruinous In the convention of 
Georgia, Alexander H. Stephens delivered a powerful oration 
in which he defended the theory of secession, but urged that 
the ?neasure was impolitic, unwise, disastrous. 

9. On the 4th of February, 1861, dele- 

r c ^ i j o , i i j Confederation of 

gates from six of the seceded States assembled _ _ A 
& the South, 

at Montgomery, Alabama, and formed a new 

government, called the Confederate States of America. 
On the 8th, the government was organized by the election of 
Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, as provisional President, and 
Alexander H. Stephens, as Vice-president. A few days pre- 
vious a peace conference met at Washington, and proposed 
certain amendments to the Constitution. But Congress gave 
little heed; and the conference adjourned. 

10. The country seemed on the verge of ruin. The army 
was on remote frontiers — the fleet in distant seas. With the 
exception of Forts Sumter, Moultrie, Pickens, and Monroe, 
all the important posts in the seceded States had been seized 
by the Confederate authorities. Early in January, the Presi- 
dent sent the Star of the West to reinforce Fort Sumter. But 
the ship was fired on, and not allowed to land. 



278 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Review Questions. — Part V. 

CHAPTER XXIX. 

1. Give an account of the inauguration of the first President, and of 
the organization of his Cabinet. 

2. Outline the important measures of Washington's first and of his 
second Administration. 

3. Tell about the troubles with the Miami Indians. 

4. What difficulty with Great Britain arose during the second Adminis- 
tion, and how was it adjusted ? 

CHAPTER XXX. 

5. Sketch the Administration of the second President, and give the 
relations existing at this time between the United States and France. 

6. Tell about the " Alien " and " Sedition " laws. 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

7. Give an account of the election of Thomas Jefferson, and of the 
changes that took place in the early part of his Administration. 

8. Give an account of the organization of Indiana Territory, and also 
of the Louisiana Purchase. 

9. Tell the story of Aaron Burr and his treason. 

10. Tell of the British claim to the " right of search," and of the im- 
mediate results in America. 

CHAPTER XXXII. 

11. Give an account of the election of President Madison, and of our 
relations with Great Britain. 

12. Follow the Indian war in the Territory of Indiana. 

13. Outline the movements, by land and by sea, of the opening campaig 
of the war of 1812. 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 

14. Describe the organization of the American army and the wa 
movements of 18 13. 



QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW AND EXAMINATION. 279 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 

15. Give the campaigns of 1814 and their results. 

16. Tell about the treaty of peace, also state what had been the causes 
of the war, and how the treaty affected the points in dispute. 

17. State the condition of monetary affairs in the United States, and the 
measures that were adopted in their interest. 

CHAPTER XXXV. 

18. What characterized the Administration of James Monroe ? 

19. Give an account of the affairs in Florida, and of the cession of that 
territory by Spain to the United States. 

20. Tell about the " Missouri Compromise," and the " Monroe 
Doctrine." 

CHAPTER XXXVI. 

21. Give the principal features of the peaceful Administration of John 
Quincy Adams. 

CHAPTER XXXVII. 

22. Give an account of President Jackson, and of his treatment of the 
nullification doctrines that were brought forward in his time. 

23. Tell of the Indian affairs of these years, and of their adjustment. 

24. Describe the bank questions that now arose. 

CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

25. Outline the Administration of Martin Van Buren, and especially the 
measures adopted to settle the monetary questions. 

CHAPTER XXXIX. 

26. Sketch the Administrations of Harrison and Tyler. 

27. Tell the story of the Mormons. 

28. Give an account of the affairs of Texas, and its admission into the 
Union as a State. 

CHAPTER XL. 

29. What was the issue upon which President Polk was elected, and 
what were the great events of his term of office? 

30. Follow the course of the Mexican war, giving its causes, prominent 
generals, leading events, and results. 

31. Give an account of the treaty with Mexico. 

32. Tell about the affairs in California, and the discovery of gold. 



28o 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



CHAPTER XLI. 

33. State how the discussions of the slavery question were reopened by 
the admission of California into the Union, and tell of the "Omnibus Bill." 

34. Give an account of the Arctic expeditions of this period. 



CHAPTER XLII. 



35. Give an account of the leading measures of President Pierce's Ad- 
ministration, and of the general progress of the nation. 

36. What issues were prominent in the election of 1856? 



CHAPTER XLIII. 



37. Tell of the civil and political affairs of the first three years of 
Buchanan's Administration. 

38. Give an account of the political campaign of i860, and the results 
of the election of Abraham Lincoln to the presidency. 



Part VI. 

THE CIVIL WAR. 

1861-1865. 



CHAPTER XLIV. 
Lincoln's Administration. — The Beginning of the War. 

ABRAHAM LINCOLN was a native of Kentucky, born 
on the 1 2th of February, 1809. At the age of seven he 
was taken to southern Indiana, where his boyhood was passed 



in poverty and toil. On reach- 
ing his majority he removed 
to Illinois, where he distin- 
guished himself as a lawyer. 
He gained a national reputa- 
tion in 1858, when, as the 
competitor of Stephen A. 
Douglas, he canvassed Illi- 
nois for the United States 
Senate. 

2. The new cabinet was 
organized with William H. 
Seward of New York as Sec- 
retary of State. Salmon P. 
Chase of Ohio was chosen 




Secretary of the Treasury, 

and Simon Cameron, Secretary of War ; but he was soon suc- 
ceeded by Edwin M. Stanton. The secretaryship of the navy 

(281) 



282 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



was conferred on Gideon Welles. In his inaugural address, 
the President declared his purpose to repossess the forts and 
public property which had been seized by the Confederates. 
On the 1 2th of March, a futile effort was made by the seceded 
States to obtain recognition from the national government. 
Then followed a second attempt to reinforce Fort Sumter. 

3. The defences of Charleston were held 

, by seventy-nine men under Major Robert 

Fired upon. J J J 

Anderson. With this small force he retired 
to Fort Sumter. Confederate volunteers flocked to the city, 
and batteries were built about the harbor. The authorities 
of the Confederate States determined to anticipate the move- 
ment of the government by compelling Anderson to sur- 
render. On the nth of April, General P. T. Beauregard, 
commandant of Charleston, sent a flag to Sumter, demanding 
an evacuation. Major Anderson replied that he should 
defend the fortress. On the following morning the first gun 
was fired from a Confederate battery; and a bombardment of 
thirty-four hours' duration followed. The fort was obliged to 
capitulate. The honors of war were granted to Anderson 
and his men. 

4. Three days after the fall of Sumter the 

The President calls t^-j^- a nr c ^ 

. __ _ President issued a call for seventy-five thou- 
for volunteers. J 

sand volunteers to serve three months. Two 

days later Virginia seceded from the Union. On the 6th of 
May, Arkansas followed, and then North Carolina, on the 20th 
of the month. In Tennessee there was a powerful opposition 
to disunion, and it was not until the 8th of June that a seces- 
sion ordinance could be passed. In Missouri the movement 
resulted in civil war, while in Kentucky the authorities issued 
a proclamation of neutrality. The people of Maryland were 
divided into hostile parties. 

5. On the 19th of April, when the Massachusetts volunteers 
were passing through Baltimore, they were fired upon by the 
citizens and three men killed. This was the first bloodshed of 



Lincoln's administration, 1861. 



283 



the war. On the day previous, a body of Con- 
federate soldiers captured the armory of the ^ffP^ !, Fe ^ ry 

r J and Norfolk seized. 
United States at Harper's Ferry. On the 

20th of the month another company obtained possession of 
the great navy yard at Norfolk. The property thus captured 
amounted to fully ten millions of dollars. On the 3d of May 
the President issued a call for eighty-three thousand soldiers 
to serve for three years or during the war. General Winfield 
Scott was made commander-in-chief. War ships were sent to 
blockade the Southern ports. In the seceded States there was 
boundless activity. The Southern Congress adjourned from 
Montgomery, to meet on the 20th of July, at Richmond. 
There Mr. Davis and the officers of his cabinet had assembled 
to direct the affairs of the government. So stood the antago- 
nistic powers in the beginning of June, 1861. It is appropriate 
to look briefly into the Causes of the conflict. 



CHAPTER XLV. 



Causes of the Civil War. 



THE most general cause of the civil war 



1_ in the United States was the different con- 

Constitution. 



Meaning of the 

struction put upon the Constitution by the people 
of the North and of the South. A difference of opinion existed 
as to how that instrument was to be understood. One party 
held that the Union of the States is indissoluble ; that the 
States are subordinate to the central government ; that the acts 
of Congress are binding on the States ; and that all attempts at 
nullification and disunion are disloyal and treasonable. The 
other party held that the national Constitution is a compact 
between sovereign States ; that for certain reasons the Union 
may be dissolved ; that the sovereignty of the nation belongs 
to the individual States; that a State may annul an act of 
Congress ; that the highest allegiance of the citizen is due to 
his own State; and that nullification and disunion are justi- 
fiable and honorable. 

2. This question struck into the very heart of the govern- 
ment. It threatened to undo the whole civil structure of the 
United States. In the earlier history of the country the doc- 
trine of State sovereignty was most advocated in New England. 
Afterwards the people of that section passed over to the advo- 
cacy of national sovereignty, while the people of the South 
took up the doctrine of State rights. As early as 1831 the 
right of nullifying an act of Congress was openly advocated in 
South Carolina. Thus it happened that the belief in State 
sovereignty became more prevalent in the South than in the 
North. 
(284) 



CAUSES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



28 5 



3. A second cause of the civil war was the differe?it system of 

labor in the North and in the South. In the former section the 

laborers were freemen ; in the latter, slaves. In the South the 

theory was that capital should own labor; in 

the North that both labor and capital are free. Systems 

r of Labor. 

In the beginning all the colonies had been 

slave-holding. In the Eastern and Middle States the system 
of slave-labor had been abolished. In the Northwestern Ter- 
ritory slavery was excluded from the beginning. Thus there 
came to be a dividing line drawn through the Union. When- 
ever the question of slavery was agitated, a sectional division 
would arise between the North and the South. The danger 
arising from this source was increased by several subordinate 
causes. 

4. The first of these was the invention of the Cotton Gin 
to replace hand-labor in separating the fiber from the seeds of 
the cotton plant. It was invented in 1793 by Eli Whitney, of 
Massachusetts, and through its immediate adoption cotton sud- 
denly became the most profitable of all the staples. In pro- 
portion to the increased profitableness of cotton, slave-labor 
grew in demand and slavery became an important and deep- 
rooted institution. 

5. From this time onward, there was constant danger of dis- 
union. In the Missouri Agitation of 1820-21, threats of 
dissolving the Union were freely made in both the North and 
the South. When the Missouri Compromise was enacted, it 
was the hope of Mr. Clay and his fellow-statesmen to save the 
Union by removing the slavery question from politics. 

6. Next came the Nullification Acts of South Carolina. 
The Southern States had become cotton-producing ; the East- 
ern States had given themselves to manufacturing. The tariff 
measures favored manufacturers at the expense of producers. 
Mr. Calhoun proposed to remedy the evil by annulling the laws 
of Congress ; and another compromise was found necessary in 
order to allay the animosities which had been awakened. 



286 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



7. The Annexation of Texas led to a renewal of the agi- 
tation. Those who opposed the Mexican War did so because 
of the fact that thereby slavery would be extended. Whether 
the territory acquired should be made into free or slaveholding 
States was the question next agitated. This led to the Omni- 
bus Bill, by which the excitement was again allayed. 

8. In 1854 the Kansas- Nebraska Bill opened the ques- 
tion anew. Meanwhile, the character of the Northern and the 
Southern people had become quite different. In population and 
wealth the North had far outgrown the South. In i860 Mr. 
Lincoln was elected by the votes of the Northern States. The 
people of the South were exasperated at the choice of a chief- 
magistrate whom they regarded as hostile to their interests. 

9. The third general cause of the war was 

_ A . the want of intercourse between the people of the 

Estrangement. J . 

North and the South. The great railroads ran 

east and west. Between the North and the South there was 
little travel. From want of acquaintance the people became 
estranged, jealous, and suspicious. 

10. A fourth cause was the publication of sectional books. 
During the twenty years preceding the war, many works were 
published whose popularity depended on the animosity existing 
between the two sections. In such books the manners and 
customs of one section were held up to the contempt of the 
people of the other section. In the North the belief was fos- 
tered that the South was given up to inhumanity ; while in the 
South the opinion prevailed that the Northern people were a 
mean race of cowardly Yankees. 

11. The evil influence of demagogues may 

Influence of ^ e c ited as the fifth general cause of the war. 
Demagogues. 

From 1850 to i860, American statesmanship 

and patriotism were at a low ebb. Ambitious and scheming 

politicians had obtained control of the political parties. The 

welfare of the country was put aside as of little value. In order 

to gain power, many unprincipled men in the South were anxious 



CAUSES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 



287 



to destroy the Union, while others in the North were willing to 
abuse the Union for the same purpose. 

12. Added to all these causes was a growing public opinion 
in the North against the institution of slavery itself; a belief 
that slavery was wrong and ought to be destroyed. This opin- 
ion, comparatively feeble at the beginning of the war, was 
rapidly developed, and had much to do in determining the 
final character of the conflict. 



CHAPTER XLVI. 



Events of 1861. 



Operations in 
West Virginia. 



O 1 



the 24th of May the Union army 
crossed the Potomac from Washington 
to Alexandria. At this time Fortress Monroe 
was held by twelve thousand men, under General B. F. Butler. 
At Bethel Church, in that vicinity, was stationed a detachment 
of Confederates. On the 10th of June, a body of Union troops 

was sent to dislodge 
them, but was repulsed 
with considerable loss. 

2. In the last of May, 
General T. ' A. Morris 
moved forward from 
Parkersburg to Grafton, 
West Virginia. On the 
3d of June he defeated 
a force of Confederates 
at Phillippi. General 
George B. McClellan 
now took the command, 
and on the 1 ith of July 
gained a victory at Rich 
Mountain. Ontheioth 




Vicinity of Manassas Junction, 1861. 



of August, General Floyd, with a detachment of Confed- 
erates at Carnifex Ferry, was attacked by General William S. 
Rosecrans and obliged to retreat. On the 14th of September 
the Confederates, under General Robert E. Lee, were beaten 
in an engagement at Cheat Mountain. 
(288) 



EVENTS OF l86l. 



289 



3. In the beginning of June, General Robert Patterson 
marched against Harper's Ferry. On the nth of the month 
a division commanded by Colonel Lewis Wallace made a suc- 
cessful onset upon the Confederates at Romney. Patterson 
then crossed the Potomac and pressed back the Confederate 
forces to Winchester. Thus far there had been only petty 
engagements and skirmishes. The time had now come for the 
first great battle of the war. 

4. The main body of the Confederates, 

1 1 -p» 1 1 First Battle of 

under General Beauregard, was concentrated „ „ „ 

& ' Bull Run. 

at Manassas Junction, twenty-seven miles west 
of Alexandria. Another large force, commanded by General 
Joseph E. Johnston, was in the Shenandoah Valley. The Union 
army at Alexandria was commanded by General Irwin McDow- 
ell, while General Patterson was stationed in front of Johnston. 
On the 1 6th of July the national army moved forward, and on 
the morning of the 21st came upon the Confederate army be- 
tween Bull Run and Manassas Junction. A general battle en- 
sued, continuing with great severity until noonday. In the crisis 
of the conflict General Johnston arrived with nearly six thou- 
sand fresh troops from the Shenandoah Valley ; and in a short 
time McDowell's army was hurled back in rout and confusion 
into the defenses of Washington. The Union loss in killed, 
wounded, and prisoners amounted to two thousand nine hun- 
dred and fifty-two ; that of the Confederates to two thousand 
and fifty. 

5. Meanwhile, on the 20th of July, the new Confederate 
government was organized at Richmond. Jefferson Davis, the 
President, was a man of wide experience in the affairs of state, 
and considerable reputation as a soldier. He had served in 
both houses of the national Congress, and as a member of 
Pierce's cabinet. His decision of character and advocacy of 
State rights had made him a natural leader of the South. 

6. The next military movements were made in Missouri. A 
convention, called by Governor Jackson in the previous March, 

19.— U. S. Hist. 



290 



HISTORY" OF THE UNITED STATES. 



had refused to pass an ordinance of secession. 

Operations disunionists were numerous and power- 

in Missouri. 1 

ful ; and die State became a battlefield. Both 

Federal and Confederate camps were organized. By capturing 

the United States arsenal at Liberty, the Confederates obtained 

a supply of arms and ammunition. 

7. They hurried up troops, also, from Arkansas and Texas 
in order to secure the lead mines in the southwest part of the 
State. On the 17th of June Lyon defeated Governor Jackson 
at Booneville, and on the 5th of July the Unionists, led by 
Colonel Franz Sigel, were again successful in a fight at 
Carthage. On the 10th of August a hard battle was fought 
at Wilson's Creek, near Springfield. General Lyon made a 
daring attack on the Confederates under Generals McCulloch 
and Price. The Federals at first gained the field, but General 
Lyon was killed, and his men retreated. 

8. General Price now pressed northward to Lexington, which 
was defended by two thousand six hundred Federals, com- 
manded by Colonel Mulligan. A stubborn defence was made, 
but Mulligan was obliged to capitulate. On the 16th of 
October Lexington was retaken by the Federals. General 
John C. Fremont followed the retreating Confederates as far as 
Springfield, when he was superseded by General Hunter. The 
latter retreated to St. Louis, and Price fell back toward 
Arkansas. 

9. The Confederates captured the town of Columbus in 
Kentucky, and also gathered in force at Belmont, on the op- 
posite bank of the Mississippi. Colonel Ulysses S. Grant, 
with three thousand Illinois troops, was now sent into Missouri 
On the 7th of November he made a successful attack o 
Belmont; but was afterwards obliged to retreat. 

„ „, _ 10. After the rout at Bull Run, troops wer 

Ball's Bluff. . mi 

rapidly hurried to Washington. The age 

General Scott retired from active duty, and General McClella 
took command of the Army of the Potomac. By October hi 



EVENTS OF 1 86 1. 



291 



Southern Coast 
Blockaded. 



forces had increased to a hundred and fifty thousand men. On 
the 2 1 st of that month two thousand troops were sent across 
the Potomac at Ball's Bluff. Without proper support, the Fed- 
erals were attacked by a force of Confederates under General 
Evans, driven to the river, their leader, Colonel Baker, killed, 
and the whole force routed with a loss of eight hundred men. 

11. In the summer of 186 1 a naval expe- 
dition proceeded to the North Carolina coast, 
and on the 29th of August captured the forts 
at Hatteras Inlet. On the 7th of November an armament, 
under Commodore Samuel F. Du Pont and General Thomas 
W. Sherman, reached Port 
Royal, and captured Forts 
Walker and Beauregard. The 
blockade became so rigorous 
that communication between 
the Confederate States and 
foreign nations was cut off. 
In this juncture of affairs, a 
serious difficulty arose with 
Great Britain. 

12. The Confederate gov- 
ernment appointed James M. 
Mason and John Slidell as 
ambassadors to France and 
England. The envoys, escap- 
ing from Charleston, reached 




George B. McClellan. 



Havana in safety. At that port they took passage on the 
British steamer Trent for Europe. On the 8th of November 
the vessel was overtaken by the United States 
frigate San Jacinto, commanded by Captain 
Wilkes. The Trent was hailed and boarded; 
the two ambassadors were seized, transferred to the San Jacinto, 
and carried to Boston. When the Trent reached England, the 
whole kingdom burst out in a blaze of wrath. 



Mason and 
Slidell. 



292 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



13. At first the government of the United States was dis- 
posed to defend Captain Wilkes's action. Had such a course 
been taken, war with Great Britain would have been inevitable. 
The country was saved from the peril by the diplomacy of 
William H. Seward, the Secretary of State. When Great 
Britain demanded reparation for the insult, and the liberation 
of the prisoners, he replied in a mild, cautious, and very able 
paper. It was conceded that the seizure of Mason and Slidell 
was not justifiable according to the law of nations. An apol- 
ogy was made for the wrong done ; the Confederate ambassa- 
dors were liberated, put on board a vessel, and sent to their 
destination. So ended the first year of the civil war. 



CHAPTER XLVIL 



Campaigns of 1862. 

THE Federal forces now numbered about four hundred 
and fifty thousand men. Of these nearly two hundred 
thousand, under General McClellan, were encamped near 
Washington. Another army, commanded by General Buell, 
was stationed at Louisville, Kentucky. 

2. At the beginning of the year the capture of Fort Henry 
on the Tennessee and Fort Donelson, on the Cumberland, was 
planned by General Halleck. Commodore Foote was sent up 
the Tennessee with a fleet of gunboats, and General Grant was 
ordered to move forward against Fort Henry. Before the land- 
forces reached that place, the flotilla compelled the evacuation 
of the fort, the Confederates escaping to Donelson. 

3. The Federal gunboats now dropped Fort Donelson 
down the Tennessee and then ascended the 
Cumberland. Grant pressed on from Fort Henry, and began 
the siege of Fort Donelson. The defences were manned by 
ten thousand Confederates, under General Buckner. Grant's 
force numbered nearly thirty thousand. On the 16th of Feb- 
ruary Buckner was obliged to surrender. His army became 
prisoners of war, and all the magazines, stores, and guns of 
the fort fell into the hands of the Federals. 

4. General Grant now ascended the Ten- 

^. . ,. A Battle of 

nessee to Pittsburg Landing. A camp was shiloh 

established at Shiloh Church, near the river; 

and here, on the 6th of April, the Union army was attacked 

by the Confederates, led by Generals Albert S. Johnston and 

Beauregard. All day long the battle raged with great slaughter 

on both sides. Night fell on the scene with the conflict un- 

(293) 



2 9 4 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



decided ; but in the crisis General Buell arrived ' with strong 
reinforcements. In the morning General Grant assumed the 
offensive. General Johnston had been killed, and Beaure- 
gard was obliged to retreat to Corinth. The losses in killed, 
wounded, and missing were more than ten thousand on each 
side. 

5. After the Confederates evacuated Co- 
Number Ten lumbus, Kentucky, they fortified Island Num- 
ber Ten in the Mississippi, opposite New 
Madrid. Against this place General Pope advanced with 
a body of Western troops, while Commodore Foote descended 
the Mississippi with his gunboats. Pope captured New Madrid; 
and for twenty-three days Island Number Ten was besieged. 
On the 7th of April the Confederates attempted to escape; but 
Pope had cut off the retreat, and the garrison, numbering 
five thousand, was captured. On the 6th of June the city of 
Memphis was taken by the fleet of Commodore Davis. 

6. Early in the year General Curtis pushed forward into 
Arkansas, and took position at Pea Ridge, among the moun- 
tains. Here he was attacked on the 6th of March by a Con- 
federate force of twenty thousand men, which included a large 
number of Indians from the adjacent Indian Territory. A 
hard-fought battle ensued, lasting for two days, in which the 
Federals were victorious. 

7. After the destruction of the navy yard 

T ?!i M t r / im f C at Norfolk, the Confederates had raised the 
and the Monitor. 7 

frigate Merrirnac, one of the sunken ships, 

and plated the sides with iron. The vessel was then sent 
to attack the Union fleet at Fortress Monroe. Reaching 
that place on the 8th of March, the Merrimac began the work 
of destruction ; and two valuable vessels, the Cumberland and 
the Congress, were sent to the bottom. During the night, 
however, a strange ship, called the Monitor, invented by Cap- 
tain John Ericsson, arrived from New York ; and on the follow- 
ing morning the two iron-clad monsters turned their enginery 



CAMPAIGNS OF 1862. 



295 



upon each other. After fighting for five hours, the Merrimac 
was obliged to retire to Norfolk, badly damaged. 

8. On the 8th of February a Federal squadron attacked 
the Confederate fortifications on Roanoke Island. The garri- 
son, nearly three thousand 
strong, were taken prisoners. 
Burnside next proceeded 
against Newbern, and on the 
14th of March captured the 
city. Proceeding southward, 
he reached the harbor of 




Merrimac and Monitor. 



Beaufort, and on the 25th of April took possession of the 
town. 

9. On the nth of the same month Fort 
Pulaski, at the mouth of the Savannah, sur- 
rendered to General Gillmore. Early in April, 
a powerful squadron, under General Butler and Admiral 
Farragut, ascended the Mississippi and attacked Forts Jack- 



Capture of 
New Orleans. 



\ 



296 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

son and St. Philip, thirty miles above the Gulf. From the 
1 8th to the 24th the fight continued without cessation. At 
the end of that time Admiral Farragut succeeded in running 
past the batteries. On the next day he reached New Orleans, 
and captured the city. General Butler became commandant, 
and the fortifications were manned with fifteen thousand Fed- 
eral soldiers. Three days afterwards, Forts Jackson and St. 
Philip surrendered to Admiral Porter. 

10. The Confederates now invaded Ken- 
C Kentacky in tucky, in two strong divisions, the one led by 

General Kirby Smith and the other by Gen- 
eral Bragg. On the 30th of August Smith's army reached 
Richmond, and routed the Federals stationed there, with 
heavy losses. Lexington was taken, and then Frankfort; and 
Cincinnati was saved from capture only by the exertions of 
General Wallace. Meanwhile, the army of General Bragg 
advanced from Chattanooga, and on the 17th of September 
captured a Federal division of four thousand five hundred men 
at Mumfordsville. The Confederate general pressed on toward 
Louisville, and would have taken the city but for the arrival of 
General Buell. Buell's army was increased to one hundred 
thousand men. In October he again took the field, and on 
the 8th of the month overtook General Bragg at Perryville. 
Here a severe but indecisive battle was fought ; and the Con- 
federates, laden with spoils, continued their retreat into east 
Tennessee. 

11. On the 19th of September a hard battle 
Operations in wag f QU gj lt at j u k a between a Federal army, 

Mississippi. 5* 

under Generals Rosecrans and Grant, and a 

Confederate force, under General Price. The latter was 
defeated, losing, in addition to his killed and wounded, 
nearly a thousand prisoners. Rosecrans now took post at 
Corinth with twenty thousand men ; while Grant, with the 
remainder of the Federal forces, proceeded to Jackson, Ten- 
nessee. Generals Van Dorn and Price turned about to 



CAMPAIGNS OF 1 862. 



recapture Corinth. There, on the 3d of October, another 
severe battle ensued, which ended, after two days' fighting, in 
the repulse of the Confederates. 

12. In December General Sherman dropped down the river 
from Memphis to the Yazoo. On the 29th of the month he 
made an unsuccessful attack on the Confederates at Chickasaw 
Bayou. The assault was exceedingly disastrous to the Federals, 
who lost in killed, wounded, and prisoners more than three 
thousand men. 

13. General Rosecrans was now transferred to the command 
of the Army of the Cumberland, with headquarters at Nash- 
ville. General Bragg, on his retirement from 

Kentucky, had thrown his forces into Mur- „ r of , 
J 9 Murfreesborough. 

freesborough. Rosecrans moved forward, and 
on the 30th of December came upon the Confederates on 
Stone's River, a short distance northwest of Murfreesborough. 
On the following morning a furious battle ensued, continuing 
until nightfall. The Union army was brought to the verge 
of ruin. But during the night Rosecrans rallied his forces, 
and at daybreak was ready to renew the conflict. On that 
day there was a lull. On the morning of the 2d of January 
Bragg's army again rushed to the onset, gained some suc- 
cesses at first, was then checked, and finally driven back with 
heavy losses. Bragg withdrew his shattered columns, and filed 
off toward Chattanooga. 

14. In Virginia the first scenes of the year 

were enacted in the Shenandoah Valley. Jac kson s Valley 

J Campaign. 
General Banks was sent forward with a 

strong division, and in the last of March occupied the town 
of Harrisonburg. To counteract this movement, Stonewall 
Jackson was sent with twenty thousand men to pass the Blue 
Ridge and cut off Banks's retreat. At Front Royal, the Con- 
federates fell upon the Federals, routed them, and captured their 
guns and stores. Banks succeeded, however, in passing with 
his main division to Strasburg and escaping out of the valley. 



2 9 8 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



15. Jackson now found himself in great peril, for General 
Fremont had been sent into the valley to intercept the Con- 
federate retreat. But he succeeded in reaching Cross Keys 
before Fremont could attack him. The battle at Cross 
Keys was not decisive, and Jackson pressed on to Port 
Republic, where he attacked and defeated the division of 
General Shields. 

16. On the 10th of March the Army of the Potomac set 
out from the camps about Washington to capture the Confed- 



On the 4th of May, Yorktown was taken and the Federal 
army pressed on to West Point. McClellan reached the 
Chickahominy without serious resistance, and crossed at Bot- 
tom's Bridge. 

17. On the 10th of May General Wool, the commandant 
of Fortress Monroe, led an expedition against Norfolk and 
captured the town. On the next day the Confederate iron- 
clad Virginia was blown up to save her from capture. The 
James River was thus opened for the supply-transports of 




Vicinity of Richmond, 1862. 



erate capital. The ad- 
vance proceeded as far 
as Manassas Junction, 
where McClellan,chang- 
ing his plan, embarked 
a hundred and twenty 
thousand of his men for 
Fortress Monroe. From 
that place, on the 4th of 
April, the Union army 
advanced to Yorktown. 
This place was defended 
by ten thousand Con- 
federates, under General 
Magruder; and here Mc- 
Clellan's advance was 
delayed for a month. 



CAMPAIGNS OF 1862. 



the Army of the Potomac. On the 31st of 

May that army was attacked at a place „ 

J J r Campaign. 

called Fair Oaks, or Seven Pines. Here 
for a part of two days the battle raged with great fury. At 
last the Confederates were driven back; but McClellan's vic- 
tory was by no means decisive. General Joseph E. Johnston, 
the commander-in-chief of the Confederates, was severely 
wounded; and the command devolved on General Robert 
E. Lee. 

18. McClellan now formed the design of retiring to a point 
on the James below Richmond. Before the movement fairly 
began, General Lee, on the 25th of June, struck the right wing 
of the Union army at Oak 
Grove, and a hard-fought bat- 
tle ensued. On the next day 
another engagement occurred 
at Mechanicsville, and the 
Federals won the field. On 
the following morning Lee re- 
newed the struggle at Gaines's 
Mill, and came out victorious. 
On the 29th McClellan's army 
was attacked at Savage's Sta- 
tion and again in the White 
Oak Swamp — but the Con- 
federates were kept at bay. 
On the 30th was fought the 
desperate battle of Glendale, 
or Frazier's Farm. On that 

night the Federal army reached Malvern Hill, twelve miles 
below Richmond. General Lee determined to carry the place 
by storm. On the morning of the 1st of July the whole Con- 
federate army rushed forward to the assault. All day long 
the struggle for the possession of the high grounds continued. 
Not until nine o'clock at night did Lee's columns fall back 




Robert E. Lee. 



300 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



exhausted. For seven days the roar of battle had been heard 
almost without cessation. 

19. On the 2d of July McClellan retired with his army 
to Harrison's Landing, a few miles down the river; and the 
great campaign was at an end. The Federal army had lost 
more than fifteen thousand men, and the losses of the Confed- 
erates had been still greater. 

20. General Lee now T formed the design of 

, . capturing the Federal capital. The Union 

Mountain. r o r 

troops between Richmond and Washington 
were under command of General John Pope. Lee moved north- 
ward, and, on the 20th of August, Pope retreated beyond the 
Rappahannock. Meanwhile, General Banks was attacked by 
Stonewall Jackson at Cedar Mountain, where nothing but hard 
fighting saved the Federals from a rout. 

21. Jackson next dashed by with his division, on a flank 
movement to Manassas Junction, where he made large captures. 
Pope then threw his army between the two divisions of the 
Confederates. On August 28th and 29th, there was terrible 
fighting on the old Bull Run battle-ground. At one time it 
seemed that Lee's army would be defeated ; but Pope's rein- 
forcements were withheld by General Porter, and on the 31st 
the Confederates struck the Union army at Chantilly, winning 
a complete victory. Pope withdrew his broken columns as 
rapidly as possible, and found safety w T ithin the defences of 
Washington. 

22. General Lee crossed the Potomac, and 

Lee in ^ ^ ^ September captured Frederick. 

Maryland. 

On the 10th Hagerstown was taken, and on 
the 15th Stonewall Jackson seized Harper's Ferry, with nearly 
twelve thousand prisoners. On the previous day, there was a 
hard-fought engagement at South Mountain, in which the Fed- 
erals were victorious. McClellan's army was now in the rear of 
Lee, who fell back to Antietam Creek and took a strong position 
near Sharpsburg. Then followed two days of skirmishing, which 



CAMPAIGNS OF 1 862. 



301 



terminated on the 17th in one of the great battles of the war. 
From morning until night the struggle continued with unabated 
violence, and ended in a drawn battle, after a loss of more than 
ten thousand men on each side. Lee withdrew his forces from 
the field and recrossed the Potomac. 

23. General McClellan moved forward to Rectortown, Vir- 
ginia. Here he was superseded by General Burnside, who 
changed the plan of the campaign, and advanced against 
Fredericksburg. At this place the two armies 
were again brought face to face. Burnside's 
movement was delayed, and it was not until the 12th of Decem- 
ber that a passage could be effected. Meanwhile, the heights 
south of the river had been fortified, and the Union columns 
were hurled back in several desperate assaults which cost the 
assailants more than twelve thousand men. Thus in disaster to 
the Federal cause ended the campaigns of 1862. 



CHAPTER XLVIII. 



The Events of 1863. 

THE war had now grown to enormous proportions. The 
Confederate States were draining every resource of men 
and means. The superior energies of the North were greatly 
taxed. On the day after the battle of Malvern Hill, President 
Lincoln issued a call for three hundred thousand troops. Dur- 
ing Pope's retreat from the Rappahannock he sent forth another 
call for three hundred thousand, and to that was added a draft 
of three hundred thousand more. Most of these demands were 
promptly met, and it became evident that in resources the 
Federal government was vastly superior to the Confederacy. 

2. On the 1st day of January, 1863, the 

The Emancipation p^g^ent issued the Emancipation Procla- 
Proclamation. 

mation. The war had been begun with no 
well-defined intention to free the slaves of the South. But during 
the progress of the war the sentiment of abolition had grown 
with great rapidity ; and when at last it became a military neces- 
sity to strike a blow at the labor-system of the South, the step 
was taken with but little opposition. Thus, after an existence 
of two hundred and forty-four years, African slavery in the 
United States was swept away. 

3. Early in January General Sherman dispatched an expedi- 
tion to capture Arkansas Post, on the Arkansas River. The 
Union forces reached their destination on the 10th of the 
month, fought a battle with the Confederates and gained a 
victory. On the next day the post was surrendered with 
nearly five thousand prisoners. 

4. Soon afterwards the Union forces were concentrated for 
the capture of Vicksburg. Three months were spent by Gen- 

(302) 



EVENTS OF 1863. 



3°3 



Operations about 
Vicksburg. 



eral Grant in beating about the bayous around Vicksburg, in 
the hope of getting a position in the rear of the town. A canal 
was cut across a bend in the river with a view to opening a 
passage for the gun-boats. But a flood washed the works 
awa.y. Then another canal was begun, only to be abandoned. 
Finally, it was determined to run the fleet past the Vicksburg 
batteries. On the night of the 16th of April the boats dropped 
down the river. All of a sudden the guns of the enemy burst 
forth with shot and shell, pelting the passing steamers ; but 
they went by with little damage. 

5. General Grant now marched his land- 
forces down the Mississippi and formed a 
junction with the squadron. On the 1st day 
of May he defeated the Confederates at Port Gibson. The 
evacuation of Grand Gulf followed immediately. The Union 
army now swept around 
to the rear of Vicks- 
burg. On the 1 2th 
of May a Confederate 
force was defeated at 
Raymond. On the 
14th of the month 
a decisive battle was 
fought near Jackson; 
the Confederates were 
beaten, and the city 
captured. General 
Pemberton, sallying 
forth with his forces 
from Vicksburg, was 
defeated by Grant on the 16th at Champion Hills, and again 
on the 17th at Black River Bridge. Pemberton then retired 
within the defences of Vicksburg. 

6. The city was now besieged. On the 19th of May Grant 
made an assault, but was repulsed with terrible losses. Three 




Vicksburg and Vicinity, 1863. 



3°4 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



days afterwards the attempt was renewed with a still greater 
destruction of life. But the siege was pressed with ever- 
increasing severity. Admiral Porter bombarded the town inces- 
santly. Reinforcements swelled the Union ranks. Pemberton 
held out until the 4th of July, and was then driven to surren- 
der. The defenders of Vicksburg, numbering thirty thousand, 
became prisoners of war. Thousands of small arms, hundreds 
of cannon, and vast quantities of ammunition and stores were 
the fruits of the great victory. 

7. Meanwhile, General Banks had been conducting a cam- 
paign on the Lower Mississippi. From Baton Rouge he ad- 
vanced into Louisiana, and gained a victory over the Con- 
federates at Bayou Teche. He then moved northward and 
besieged Port Hudson, the last fort held by the Confederates 
on the Mississippi. The garrison made a brave defence ; and 
it was not until the 8th of July that the commandant, with his 
force of six thousand men, was obliged to capitulate. 

8. In the latter part of June Rosecrans 
Operations about . • ^ , T , , c 

succeeded m crowding General Bragg out 01 
UJi&ttaiiooga. . 

Tennessee. The Union general followed and 

took post at Chattanooga, on the left bank of the Tennessee. 
During the summer Bragg was reinforced by the corps of 
Johnston and Longstreet. 

9. On the 19th of September he turned upon the Federals 
at Chickamauga Creek, in the northwest angle of Georgia. A 
hard battle was fought, but night came with the victory un- 
decided. On the following morning the fight was renewed. 
Bragg cut through the Union battle line and drove the right 
wing into a rout. General Thomas, with desperate firmness, 
held the left until nightfall, and then withdrew into Chatta- 
nooga. The Union loss amounted to nearly nineteen thousand, 
and that of the Confederates was even greater. 

to. General Bragg pressed forward to besiege Chattanooga. 
But General Hooker arrived with two corps from the Army of 
the Potomac, opened the Tennessee River, and brought relief. 



88° Lon gitude We 




11° Longitude We 



tlett 3bur^oC&irleston'' J^/Jx??* 





est P t\ M 



(Charlestons Buiis -B. 



Tallahassee 

K 




^St.Marys 
AFernandina 
icksonville 



^ ASt.Augustine 



£ Gainesville 

O Pilatka°| 
ICjxfar KeyS^ 




V 



MAP SHOWING 

STATES IN SECESSION 

^ ^ew Smyrna during the 

CIVIL WAR 

Cape 

Canaveral SCALE: 

° L 50 100 150 200 250Miles- 

i I 



EVENTS OF 1863. 



At the same time General Grant assumed the direction of 
affairs at Chattanooga. General Sherman arrived with his 
division, and offensive operations were at once renewed. On 
the 24th of November Lookout Mountain, overlooking the town 
and river, was. stormed by the division of General Hooker. 
On the following day, Missionary Ridge was also carried, and 
Bragg's army fell back in full retreat toward Ringgold. 




A Truce in the Trenches. 



11. On the 1st of September General Burnside arrived with 
his command at Knoxville. After the battle of Chickamauga 
General Longstreet was sent into East Tennessee, where he 
arrived and began the siege of Knoxville. On the 29th of 
November the Confederates attempted to carry the town by 
storm, but were repulsed with heavy losses. General Sherman 
soon marched to the relief of Burnside ; and Longstreet retreated 
into Virginia. 

20. -U. S. Hist, 



306 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



1 2 . Early in 1 863 the Confederates resumed 

Events West activity in Arkansas and southern Missouri. 

the Mississippi. J 

On the 8th of January they attacked Spring- 
field, but were repulsed. Several other attempts were made 
with similar results. On the 13th of August Lawrence, Kan- 
sas, was sacked, and a hundred and forty persons killed, by a 
band of desperate fellows, led by a chieftain called Quantrell. 
On the 10th of September the Federal general Steele captured 
Little Rock, Arkansas. 

13. In the summer of this year General 
j0lln ^id ganS J onn Morgan made a great raid through Ken- 
tucky, Indiana, and Ohio. He crossed the 

Ohio at Brandenburg, and began his march to the north. 
At Corydon and other points he was resisted by the home- 
guards and pursued by General Hobson. Morgan crossed into 
Ohio, made a circuit north of Cincinnati, and attempted to re- 
cross the river. But the raiders were driven back. The Con- 
federate leader pressed on until he came near New Lisbon, 
where he was captured by the brigade of General Shackelford. 
After a four months' imprisonment Morgan escaped and made 
his way to Richmond. 

14. On the 1st of January General Ma- 
^^h^Coast 1011 ^ g ru der captured Galveston, Texas. By this 

means the Confederates secured a port of en- 
try in the Southwest. On the 7th of April Admiral Du Pont, 
with a fleet of iron-clads, attempted to capture Charleston, but 
was driven back. In June the city was besieged by a strong 
land-force, under General Q. A. Gillmore, assisted by Admiral 
Dahlgren's fleet. After the bombardment had continued for 
some time, General Gillmore, on the 18th of July, attempted to 
carry Fort Wagner by assault, but was repulsed with severe 
loss. The siege progressed until the 6th of September, when 
the Confederates evacuated the fort and retired to Charleston. 
Gillmore now brought his guns to bear on the wharves and 
buildings in the lower part of the city. But Charleston still held 



EVENTS OF 1863. 



3°7 



out ; and the only gain of the Federals was the establishment 
of a complete blockade. 

15. After his repulse at Fredericksburg, 

General Burnside was superseded by General _ Battle of 

. 1 J Chancellorsville. 

Joseph Hooker, who, in the latter part of 

April, crossed the Rappahannock and reached Chancellors- 
ville. Here, on the morning of the 2d of May, he was attacked 
by the Army of Northern Virginia, led by Lee and Jackson. 
The latter general, at the head of twenty-five thousand men, 
outflanked the Union army, 
burst upon the right wing, 
and swept everything to 
destruction. But it was 
the last of Stonewall Jack- 
son's battles. As night 
came on the Confederate 
leader received a volley 
from his own lines ; and fell 
to rise no more. 

16. On the 3d the battle 
was renewed. General 
Sedgwick was defeated 
and driven across the Rap- 
pahannock. The main 
army was crowded between 
Chancellorsville and the 
river, where it remained until the 5th, when General Hooker 
succeeded in withdrawing his forces to the northern bank. 
The Union losses amounted in killed, wounded, and prison- 
ers to about seventeen thousand; that of the Confederates 
was less by five thousand. 

17. Next followed the cavalry raid of General Stoneman. 
On the 29th of April he crossed the Rappahannock with ten 
thousand men, tore up the Virginia Central Railroad, cut 
General Lee's communications, swept around within a few 




Stonewall Jackson. 



3 o8 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



miles of Richmond, and then recrossed the Rappahannock 
in safety. 

1 8. General Lee now determined to carry 

Lee Invades ^ e war into the North. In the first week of 
Pennsylvania. 

June he crossed the Potomac, and captured 
Hagerstown. On the 2 2d he entered Chambersburg, and 
then pressed on through Carlisle to within a few miles of 
Harrisburg. The militia of Pennsylvania was called out, and 
volunteers came pouring in from other States. General Hooker 
pushed forward to strike his antagonist. General Lee rapidly 
concentrated his forces near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. On 
the eve of battle the command of the Union army was trans- 
ferred to General George G. Meade, who took up a position 
on the hills around Gettysburg. Here the two armies, each 
numbering about eighty thousand men, were brought face 
to face. 

19. On the 1st of July the struggle began, 

„ , and for three days the conflict raged. The 

Gettysburg. 1 

battle reached its climax on the 3d, when 
a Confederate column, three miles long, headed by the Vir- 
ginians under General Pickett, made a final charge on the 
Union center. But the onset was in vain, and the men who 
made it were mowed down with terrible slaughter. The vic- 
tory remained with the National army, and Lee was obliged 
to turn back to the Potomac. The entire Confederate loss 
was nearly thirty thousand ; that of the Federals twenty- three 
thousand one hundred and eighty-six. General Lee withdrew 
his forces into Virginia, and the Union army resumed its position 
on the Potomac. 

20. The administration of President Lin- 
Conscription in was ]3 eset w itli many difficulties. The 

the North. J 

last calls for volunteers had not been fully 

met. The anti-war party of the North denounced the measures 

of the government. On the 3d of March the Conscription 

Act was passed by Congress, and the President ordered a dra 



EVENTS OF 1863. 



3°9 



of three hundred thousand men. The measure was bitterly- 
opposed, and in many places the draft-officers were resisted. 
On the 13th of July, in the city of New York, a mob rose in 
arms, demolished buildings, burned the colored orphan asy- 
lum, and killed about a hundred people. For three days the 
authorities were set at defiance ; but a force of regulars and 
volunteers gathered at the scene, and the riot was suppressed. 

21. Only about fifty thousand men were obtained by the 
draft. But volunteering was quickened by the measure, and the 
employment of substitutes soon filled the ranks. In October the 
President issued another call for three hundred thousand men. 
By these measures the columns of the Union army were made 
more powerful than ever. In the armies of the South, on tht 
other hand, there were already symptoms of exhaustion. On 
the 20th of June in this year West Virginia was separated 
from the Old Dominion and admitted as the thirty-fifth State 
of the Union. 



CHAPTER XLIX. 



The Closing Conflicts. — Events of 1864 and 1865. 

EARLY in February, 1864, General Sherman moved from 
Vicksburg to Meridian. In this vicinity the railroad tracks 
were torn up for a hundred and fifty miles. At Meridian 
General Sherman expected a force of Federal cavalry, which 
had been sent out from Memphis under General Smith. 
The latter advanced into Mississippi, but was met by the cav- 
alry of Forrest, and driven back to Memphis. General Sher- 
man thereupon retraced his course to Vicksburg. Forrest 
continued his raid northward to Paducah, Kentucky, and made 
an assault on Fort Anderson, but was repulsed with a severe 
loss. Turning back into Tennessee, he came upon Fort Pillow, 
on the Mississippi, and carried the place by storm. 

2. In the spring of 1864, the Red River 
The Red River T . , . , ^ , 

^, Fxpedition was undertaken by General 

Expedition. J 

Banks. The object was to capture Shreve- 
port, the seat of the Confederate government of Louisiana. 
On the 14th of March the Federal advance captured Fort 
de Russy, on Red River. The Confederates retreated to 
Alexandria, which was taken on the 16th by the Federals. 

3. At Mansfield, on the 8th of April, the advancing Feder- 
als were attacked by the Confederates, and completely routed. 
At Pleasant Hill, on the next day, the main body of the Union 
army was badly defeated. The flotilla now descended the 
river from the direction of Shreveport. The whole expedition 
returned as rapidly as possible to the Mississippi. General 
Steele had, in the mean time, advanced from Little Rock to aid 
in the reduction of Shreveport; but learning of the Federal 
defeats, he withdrew after several severe engagements. 
(3*0) 



EVENTS OF 1864 AND 1865. 



Sherman's 
Advance on 
Atlanta. 



4. On the 2d of March, 1864, General Grant was appointed 
general-in-chief of all the armies of the United States. Seven 
hundred thousand soldiers were now to move at his command. 
Two great campaigns were planned for the year. The army 
of the Potomac, under Meade and the general-in-chief, was 
to advance upon Richmond. General Sherman, with one 
hundred thousand men, was to march from Chattanooga 
against Atlanta. 

5. On the 7th of May General Sherman 
moved forward. At Dalton he succeeded in 
turning General Johnston's flank, and obliged 
him to fall back to Resaca. After two hard 

battles, on the 14th and 15th of May, this place was carried, 
and the Confederates retreated to Dallas. Here, on the 28th, 
Johnston made a second 
stand, but was again out- 
flanked, and compelled to 
fall back to Lost Mountain. 
He was forced from this 
position on the 1 7th of June. 
The next stand was made 
on Great and Little Kene- 
saw Mountains. From this 
line on the 2 2d of June the 
division of General Hood 
made a fierce attack, but 
was repulsed with heavy 
losses. Five days afterward, 
General Sherman attempted 
to carry Great Kenesaw by 
storm ; but the assault ended in a dreadful repulse. Sherman 
resumed his former tactics, and by the 10th of July the whole 
Confederate army had retired to Atlanta. 

6. This stronghold was at once besieged. Here were the 
machine shops, foundries, and car works of the Confederacy. 




William T. Sherman. 



312 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



At the beginning of the siege the cautious General Johnston 
was superseded by the rash General J. B. Hood. On the 20th, 
2 2d and 28th of July, the latter made three assaults on the 
Union lines, but was repulsed with dreadful losses. At last 
Hood was obliged to evacuate Atlanta; and on the 2d of 
September the Union army marched into the captured city. 




Sherman's Campaign, 1864. 

7. General Hood now marched northward through North- 
ern Alabama, and advanced on Nashville. Meanwhile, Gen- 
eral Thomas, with the Army of the Cumberland, had been 
detached from Sherman's army and sent northward to confront 
Hood. General Schofield, who commanded the Federal forces 

in Tennessee, fell back before the Confed- 
erates, and took post at Franklin. Here, on 
the 30th of November, he was attacked by 
Hood's legions, and held them in check until nightfall, when 
he retreated within Thomas's defenses at Nashville. Hood 
followed, but on the 15th of December General Thomas fell 
upon the Confederate army, and, routing it with a loss of 
twenty-five thousand men, drove it back into Alabama. 

8. On the 14th of November General Sherman burned 
Atlanta and began his March to the Sea. His army 



Hood's Nashville 
Campaign. 



EVENTS OF 1864 AND 1865. 



313 



Sherman's 
Great March. 



numbered sixty thousand men. He cut his 
communications with the North, abandoned 
his base of supplies, and struck out for the 
sea-coast, two hundred and fifty miles away. The Union 
army passed through Macon and Milledgeville, crossed the 
Ogeechee, captured Gibson and Waynesborough, and on the 
10th of December arrived in the vicinity of Savannah. On 
the 13th, Fort McAllister was 
carried by storm. On the 
night of the 20th, General 
Hardee, the Confederate 
commandant, escaped from 
Savannah and retreated to 
Charleston. On the 2 2d, 
General Sherman made his 
headquarters in the city. 

9. January, 1865, was 
spent by the Union army at 
Savannah. On the 1st of 
February, General Sherman 
began his march against 
Columbia, South Carolina. 
The Confederates had not 
sufficient force to stay his progress. On the 17 th of the month, 
Columbia was surrendered. On the same night, Hardee, hav- 
ing destroyed the public property of Charleston, and kindled 
fires which laid four squares in ashes, evacuated the city ; and 
on the following morning the national forces entered. From 
Columbia General Sherman marched into North Carolina, and 
on the nth of March captured the town of Fayetteville. 

10. General Johnston was now recalled to 
the command of the Confederate forces, and 
the advance of the Union army began to be 
seriously opposed. On the 19th of March, General Sherman 
was attacked by Johnston near Bentonville; but Johnston 




Joseph E. Johnston. 



Surrender of 
Gen. Johnston. 



3*4 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



was defeated, and on the 21st Sherman entered Goldsborough. 
Here he was reinforced by Generals Schofield and Terry. The 
Federal army turned to the northwest, and on the 13th of April 
entered Raleigh. This was the end of the great march ; and 
here, on the 26th of the month, General Sherman received the 
surrender of Johnston's army. 

11. Meanwhile, important events had oc- 
a^Mobile ciirred on the Gulf. Early in August, 1864, 
Admiral Farragut bore down on the defenses 
of Mobile. The harbor was defended by a Confederate fleet 
and the monster iron-clad Tennessee, On the 5th of August, 
Farragut ran past Forts Morgan and Gaines into the har- 
bor. In order to direct the movements of his vessels, the old 
admiral mounted to the maintop of the Hartford, lashed him- 
self to the rigging, and from that high perch gave his com- 
mands during the battle. One of the Union ships struck a 
torpedo and sank. The rest attacked and dispersed the Con- 
federate squadron; but just as the day seemed won, the Ten- 
nessee came down at full speed to strike the Hartford. Then 
followed one of the fiercest conflicts of the war. The Union 
iron-clads closed around their antagonist and battered her 
with fifteen-inch bolts of iron until she surrendered. 

^ A _ 12. Next came the capture of Fort Fisher, 

Fort Fisher. r ' 

at the entrance to Cape Fear River. In De- 
cember, Admiral Porter was sent with a powerful American 
squadron to besiege and take the fort. General Butler, with 
six thousand five hundred men, accompanied the expedition. 
On the 24th of the month, the troops were sent ashore with 
orders to storm the works. When the generals in command 
came near enough to reconnoiter, they decided that an assault 
could only end in disaster, and the enterprise was abandoned. 
Admiral Porter remained before Fort Fisher with his fleet, and 
General Butler returned to Fortress Monroe. Early in Janu- 
ary, the siege was renewed, and on the 15th of the month 
Fort Fisher was taken by storm. 



EVENTS OF 1864 AND 1865. 



13. In the previous October, Lieutenant Cushing, with a 
number of volunteers, embarked in a small steamer and entered 
the Roanoke. A tremendous iron ram, called the Albemarle, 
was discovered lying at the harbor of Plymouth. Cautiously 
approaching, the lieutenant sank a torpedo under the Confed- 
erate ship, exploded it, and left the ram a ruin. The adven- 
ture cost the lives or capture of all of Cushing's party except 
himself and one other, who made good their escape. 

14. During the progress of the war the 

commerce of the United States was greatly Confederate 

J Cruisers, 
injured by the Confederate cruisers. The 

first ship sent out was the Savannah, which was captured on 

the same day that she escaped from Charleston. In June 

of 1 86 1, the Samter, commanded by Captain Semmes, ran the 

blockade at New Orleans, and did fearful work with the Union 

merchantmen. But in February of 1862, Semmes was chased 

into the harbor of Gibraltar, where he was obliged to sell his 

vessel. The Nashville ran out from Charleston, and returned 

with a cargo worth three millions of dollars. In March of 1863 

she was sunk by a Union iron-clad in the Savannah River. 

15. The ports of the Southern States were now closely 
blockaded. In this emergency the Confederates turned to the 
ship-yards of Great Britain, and began to build cruisers. In 
the harbor of Liverpool the Florida was fitted out ; and going 
to sea in the summer of 1862, she succeeded in running into 
Mobile Bay. She afterward destroyed fifteen merchantmen, 
and was then captured and sunk in Hampton Roads. The 
Georgia, the Olustee, the Shenandoah and the Chickamanga, 
all built at the shipyards of Glasgow, Scotland, escaped to 
sea and made great havoc with the merchant-ships of the 
United States. 

16. Most destructive of all was the Ala- „„ __■ 

The Alabama. 

bama, built at Liverpool. Her commander 

was Captain Raphael Semmes. A majority of the crew were 

British subjects; and her armament was entirely British. In 



316 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



her whole career, involving the destruction of sixty-six vessels 
and a loss of ten million dollars, she never entered a Con- 
federate port. In the summer of 1864 Semmes was overtaken 
in the harbor of Cherbourg, France, by the steamer Kearsarge. 
On the 19th of June, Semmes went out to give his antago- 
nist battle. After a desperate fight of an hour's duration, the 
Alabama was sunk. Semmes was picked up by the English 
Deerhowid and carried to Southampton. 

17. On the night of the 3d of May, 1864, 
Grant's Advance ^ , , ^ -, , -, 

. , the national camp at Culpepper was broken 
on Richmond. 1 . 

up, and the march on Richmond was be- 
gun. On the first day of the advance, Grant crossed the 
Rapidan and entered the Wilderness, a country of oak woods 
and thickets. He was immediately attacked by the Confederate 
army. During the 5th, 6th, and 7th of the month, the fighting 
continued incessantly with terrible losses ; but the results were 
indecisive. Grant next made a flank movement in the direction 
of Spottsylvania Court-house. Here followed, from the 9th un- 
til the 1 2th, one of the bloodiest struggles of the war. The 
Federals gained some ground and captured the division of 
General Stewart ; but the losses of Lee were less than those 
of his antagonist. 

18. Grant again moved to the left, and came to Cold Harbor, 
twelve miles northeast of Richmond. Here, on the 1st of June, 
he attacked the Confederates, but was repulsed with heavy 
losses. On the morning of the 3d the assault was renewed, 
and in half an hour nearly ten thousand Union soldiers fell 
dead or wounded before the Confederate intrenchments. The 
repulse of the Federals was complete, but they held their lines 
as firmly as ever. 

19. General Grant now changed his base to James River. 
General Butler had already taken City Point and Bermuda 
Hundred. Here, on the 15th of June, he was joined by 
General Grant's whole army, and the combined forces moved 
forward and began the siege of Petersburg. 



EVENTS OF 1864 AND 1 865. 



317 



20. Meanwhile important movements were 

taking place on the Shenandoah. When °^he Valley^ 
Grant moved from the Rapidan, General 
Sigel marched up the valley to New Market, where he was 
met and defeated by the Confederate cavalry, under General 
Breckinridge. The latter then returned to Richmond, where- 
upon the Federals faced about, overtook the Confederates at 
Piedmont, and gained a sig- 
nal victory. From this place , 
Generals Hunter and Averill 
advanced against Lynch- 
burg. By this movement the 
valley of the Shenandoah was 
again exposed to invasion. 

21. Lee immediately dis- 
patched General Early to 
cross the Blue Ridge, in- 
vade Maryland and threaten 
Washington City. With 
twenty thousand men Early 
began his march, and on the 
5th of July crossed the Poto- 
mac. On the 9th he defeated 
the division of General Wallace on the Monocacy. But the 
battle saved Washington and Baltimore from capture. 

22. General Wright followed Early as far as Winchester. 
But the latter wheeled upon him, and the Union troops were 
driven across the Potomac. Early next invaded Pennsylvania 
and burned Chambersburg. General Grant now appointed 
General Philip H. Sheridan to command the army on the Up- 
per Potomac. The troops placed at his disposal numbered 
nearly forty thousand. On the 19th of September, Sheridan 
marched upon Early at Winchester, and routed him in a hard- 
fought battle. On the 2 2d of September he gained another 
complete victory at Fisher's Hill, 




Philip H. Sheridan. 



3*8 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Sheridan's Bide 
from Winchester. 



23. Sheridan next turned about to ravage the valley. The 
ruinous work was fearfully well done. Nothing worth fighting 
for was left between the Blue Ridge and the Alleghanies. 
Maddened by his defeats, Early rallied his forces, and again 
entered the valley. Sheridan had posted his army on Cedar 
Creek, and, feeling secure, had gone to Washington. On the 
19th of October, Early surprised the Union camp, captured 
the artillery, and sent the routed troops flying in confusion 
toward Winchester. The Confederates pur- 
sued as far as Middletown, and there paused 
to eat and rest. On the previous night, Sheri- 
dan had returned to Winchester, and was now coming to rejoin 

his army. He rode 
twelve miles at full 
speed, rallied the 
fugitives, and gain- 
ed one of the most 
signal victories of 
the war. Early's 
army was com- 
pletely ruined. 

24. All fall and 
winter General 
Grant pressed the 
siege of Peters- 
burg. On the 30th 
of July a mine was 
exploded under 
one of the forts; 
but the assaulting 
column was re- 
pulsed with heavy 
losses. On the 
1 8th of August a division of the Union army seized the Weldon 
Railroad and held it against several assaults. On the 28th 




Operations in Virginia, 1864 and 1865. 



EVENTS OF 1864 AND 1865. 



3 T 9 



of September, Battery Harrison was stormed by the Federals, and 
on the next day General Paine's brigade carried the redoubt on 
Spring Hill. On the 27th of October, there was a battle on the 
Boydton road ; and then the army went into winter quarters. 

25. On the 27th of February, Sheridan gained a victory 
over Early at Waynesboro, and then joined the general-in- 
chief. On the 1st of April, a severe battle was fought at 
Five Forks, in which the Confederates were defeated with a 
loss of six thousand prisoners. On the next day Grant or- 
dered a general assault on the lines of Petersburg, and the 
works were carried. On that night Lee's 

army and the Confederate government fled „. . 

J & Richmond, 

from Richmond ; and on the following morn- 
ing the Federal troops entered the city. The warehouses 
were fired by the retreating Confederates, and the better part 
of the city was reduced to ruins. 

26. General Lee retreated as rapidly as possible to the 
southwest. Once the Confederates turned and fought, but 
were defeated with great losses. For five days the pursuit 
was kept up ; and then Lee was brought to bay at Appomattox 

Court-house. There, on the oth of April, _ , «. 

J y r Lee's Surrender. 

1865, the work was done. General Lee sur- 
rendered the Army of Northern Virginia, and the Con^ 
federacy was hopelessly overthrown. General Grant signal- 
ized the end of the strife by granting to his antagonist the 
most liberal terms. How the army of General Johnston was 
surrendered a few days later has already been narrated After 
four dreadful years of bloodshed and sorrow, the civil war 

WAS AT AN END. 

27. The Federal authority was rapidly ex- 
tended over the South. Mr. Davis and his Je ^ ers ° n Davis 

Captured. 

cabinet escaped to Danville, and there for a 
few days kept up the forms of government. From that place 
they fled into North Carolina. The ex- President continued 
his flight into Georgia, and encamped near Irwinsville, where, 



320 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



on the ioth of May, he was captured by General Wilson's 
cavalry. He was conveyed to Fortress Monroe, and kept in 
confinement until May of 1867, when he was taken to Rich- 
mond to be tried for treason. He was admitted to bail ; and 
his case was finally dismissed. 

28. At the presidential election of 1864, 

a„ n Mr. Lincoln was chosen for a second term. 
Admitted. 

As Vice-president, Andrew Johnson of Ten- 
nessee was elected. In the preceding summer, the people of 
Nevada framed a constitution, and on the 31st of October the 
new commonwealth was proclaimed as the thirty-sixth State. 
The gold and silver mines of Nevada soon surpassed those of 
California in their yield of precious metals. 

29. At the outbreak of the civil war the financial credit of 
the United States sank to a very low ebb. Mr. Chase, the Sec- 
retary of the Treasury, first sought relief by issuing Treasury 
Notes, receivable as money. By the beginning of 1862, the 
expenses of the government had risen to more than a million 
of dollars daily. To meet these tremendous demands on the 
government, Congress next provided Internal Revenue. 
This was made up from two general sources : first, a tax on 
manufactures, incomes and salaries ; second, a sta?np-duty on 

all legal documents. The next measure was 
Th Af m ** ceB the issuance of Legal Tender Notes of the 

01 L1I6 v* sly 

United States, to be used as money. These 
are the notes called Greenbacks. The third great measure 
adopted by the government was the sale of United States 
Bonds. The interest upon them was fixed at six per cent., 
payable semi-annually in gold. In the next place, Congress 
passed an act providing for the establishment of National 
Banks. National bonds, instead of gold and silver, were 
used as a basis of the circulation of these banks; and the 
redemption of their bills was guaranteed by the treasury of the 
United States. At the end of the conflict, the national debt 
had reached nearly three thousand millions of dollars \ 



EVENTS OF 1864 AND 1865. 327 

30. On the 4th of March, 1865, President 

Lincoln was inaugurated for his second term. ^ res * 3 ^ nc ° ln s 
Three days after the evacuation of Richmond 
by Lee's army, the President made a visit to that city. On 
the evening of the 14th of April, he, with his wife and a party 
of friends, attended Ford's Theater in Washington. As the 
play drew near its close, an actor, named John Wilkes Booth, 
stole into the President's box and shot him through the brain. 
Mr. Lincoln lingered in an unconscious state until morning, 
and died. It was the greatest tragedy of modern times. The 
assassin, after the murder, escaped into the darkness. 

31. At the same hour another murderer, 

named Lewis Payne Powell, burst into the SeCr g t t aWbed War 
bed-chamber of Secretary Seward, sprang 
upon the couch of the sick man, and stabbed him nigh unto 
death. The city was wild with alarm. Troops of cavalry de- 
parted in all directions to hunt down the assassins. On the 
26th of April, Booth was found concealed in a bam south of 
Fredericksburg. Refusing to surrender, he was shot by Ser- 
geant Boston Corbett. Powell was caught and hanged. David 
E. Herrold and Geo. A. Atzerott, together with Mrs. Mary E. 
Surratt, at whose house the plot was formed, were also con- 
demned and executed. Michael O'Laughlin, Dr. Samuel A. 
Mudd, and Samuel Arnold were sentenced to imprisonment 
for life, and Edward Spangler for six years. 

32. So ended in darkness, but not in shame, the career of 
Abraham Lincoln — one of the most remarkable men of any 
age or country. He was prudent, far-sighted, and resolute; 
thoughtful, calm, and just; patient, tender-hearted, and great. 
The manner of his death consecrated his memory. From city 
to city, in one vast funeral procession, the mourning people 
followed his remains to their last resting-place at Springfield, 
Illinois. 



21.— U. S. Hist. 



322 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Review Questions. — Part VI. 

CHAPTER XLIV. 

1. Describe the situation of affairs at the opening of Lincoln's Admin* 
istration. 

CHAPTER XLV. 

2. Give the causes, general and special, of the Civil War. 

chapter xlvi. 

3. Outline the campaigns of 1861. 

4. Tell of the organization of the Confederate Government. 

5. State the difficulty that now arose with Great Britain. 

CHAPTER XLVII. 

6. Give an account of the campaigns along the Cumberland, the Ten- 
nessee, and the Mississippi Rivers. 

7. Outline the movements of the year 1862 in and about Virginia. 

8. What were the general conditions and prospects of the armies at 
the close of 1862? 

CHAPTER XLVIII. 

9. Tell about the Emancipation Proclamation. 

10. Describe the capture of Vicksburg. 

11. Sketch the subsequent movements of 1863. 

12. Tell of the Conscription Act, and the results from it. 

CHAPTER XLIX. 

13. Outline the military movements of 1864 under General Sherman. 

14. Sketch the campaigns along the Potomac, with the capture of Rich- 
mond, and the retreat and surrender of Lee's army. 

15. Tell of the breaking up of the Confederate Government. 

16. What was the condition of the National finances, and what measures 
had been enacted, from 1862 to 1865, for their relief. 

17. Give an account of the assassination of President Lincoln. 



Part VII. 
THE NATION REUNITED. 

A. D. 1865-1891. 



CHAPTER L. 
Johnson's Administration, 1 865-1 869. 

ON the day after the assassination of Mr. Lincoln, Andrew 
Johnson became President of the United States. He 
was a native of Raleigh, North Carolina — born in 1808. 
With no advantages of 
education, he passed his 
boyhood in poverty. In 
1828 he removed to Green- 
ville, Tennessee, where he 
soon rose to distinction, and 
was elected to Congress. 
As a member of the United 
States Senate in 1860-61, 
he opposed secession with 
all his powers. In 1862 he 
was appointed military gov- 
ernor of Tennessee. This 
office he held until he was 
nominated for the vice- 
presidency. 

2. On the 1 st of February, 1865, Congress adopted an 
amendment to the Constitution by which slavery was abolished 

(323) 




Andrew Johnson. 



3 2 4 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



throughout the Union. By the 18th of the following Decem- 
ber, the amendment had been ratified by the legislatures of 
twenty-seven States, and was duly proclaimed as a part of the 
Constitution. The emancipation proclamation had been issued 
as a military necessity; and the results of the instrument were 
now incorporated in the fundamental law of the land. 

3. On the 29th of May, the Amnesty 

Amnesty Proclamation was issued by the President. 
Proclamation. . J - 

By its provisions a pardon was extended 

to all persons — except those specified in certain classes — 
who had taken part in upholding the Confederacy. During 
the summer of 1865, the great armies were disbanded, and the 
victors and vanquished returned to their homes to resume the 
works of peace. 

4. The finances of the nation were in an alarming condition. 
The war-debt went on increasing until the beginning of 1866. 
The yearly interest grew to a hundred and thirty-three million 
dollars in gold. The expenses of the government had reached 
two hundred millions of dollars annually. But the revenues of 
the nation proved sufficient to meet these enormous outlays, 
and at last the debt began to diminish. 
^ j, h . 5- During the civil war, the emperor Napo- 

Mexico ^ e0n succee ded in setting up a French 

empire in Mexico. In 1864 the Mexican 
crown was conferred on Maximilian of Austria, who sustained 
his authority with French and Austrian soldiers. But the 
Mexican president Juarez headed a revolution ; the govern- 
ment of the United States rebuked France for her conduct ; 
Napoleon withdrew his army; Maximilian was overthrown; 
and eventually, on the 13th of June, 1867, was tried and con- 
demned to be shot. Six days afterwards the sentence was 
carried into execution. 

6. After a few weeks of successful operation, the first Atlantic 
telegraph had ceased to work. But Mr. Field continued to 
advocate his measure and to plead for assistance both in Europe 



Johnson's administration, 1865-1869. 



325 



and America. He made fifty voyages across the Atlantic, and 
finally secured sufficient capital to lay a second cable. The 
work began from the coast of Ireland in the summer of 1865 ; 
but the first cable parted and was lost. In 

July of 1866 a third cable, two thousand miles The Atlantic 
. J ' Cable, 

in length, was coiled in the Great Eastern, 

and again the vessel started on its way. This time the 

work was completely successful. Mr. Field received a gold 

medal from Congress, and the plaudits of all civilized 

nations. 4 

7. In March of 1861, the Territory of The Territories , 
Dakota, destined after twenty-eight years to 

become two great states, was detached from Nebraska and 
given a distinct organization. The State of Kansas had at 
last, on the 29th of January, 1861, been admitted into the 
Union, under a constitution framed at Wyandotte. In Febru- 
ary, 1863, Arizona was separated from New Mexico, and on 
the 3d of March, in that year, Idaho was organized out of por- 
tions of Dakota, Nebraska, and Washington Territories. On 
the 26th of May, 1864, Montana was cut off from Idaho. On 
the 1 st of March, 1867, Nebraska was admitted into the 
Union as the thirty-seventh State. Finally, on the 25th of 
July, 1868, the Territory of Wyoming was organized out of 
portions of Dakota, Idaho, and Utah. 

8. The year 1867 was signalized by the 

Purcliaso of 

Purchase of Alaska. Two years pre- Alaska 
viously, the territory had been explored by 
a corps of scientific men with a view of establishing tele- 
graphic communication with Asia. The explorers found that 
the coast- fisheries were of great value, and that the forests 
of white pine and yellow cedar were among the finest in the 
world. Negotiations for the purchase were at once opened, 
and on the 30th of March, 1867, a treaty was concluded by 
which, for the sum of seven million two hundred thousand 
dollars, Russia ceded Alaska to the United States. The territory 



326 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



embraced an area of five hundred and eighty thousand square 

miles, and a population of twenty-nine thousand souls. 

9. Very soon after his accession, a serious disagreement arose 

between the President and Congress. The difficulty grew out 

of the question of reorganizing the Southern States. The 

point in dispute was the relation which those States had 

sustained to the Federal Union during the civil war. The 

President held that the ordinances of secession were null and 

void, and that the seceded States had never been out of the 

Union. The majority in Congress held that the acts of secession 

were illegal and unconstitutional, but that the seceded States 

had been actually detached from the Union, and that special 

legislation was necessary in order to restore them to their 

former relations. 

„ A . 10. In 1 86 c, measures of reconstruction 

Reconstruction. 01 

were begun by the President. On the 9th of 
May, a proclamation was issued for the restoration of Virginia 
to the Union. Twenty days later a provisional government 
was established over South Carolina; and similar measures 
were adopted in respect to the other States of the Con- 
federacy. On the 24th of June, all restrictions on trade and 
intercourse with the Southern States were removed. On 
the 7th of September a second amnesty proclamation was 
issued, by which all persons who had upheld the Confederate 
cause — excepting the leaders — were unconditionally pardoned. 
Meanwhile, Tennessee had been reorganized, and in 1866 was 
restored to its place in the Union. When Congress convened, 
a committee of fifteen members was appointed, to which were 
referred all questions concerning the reorganization of the 
Southern States. In accordance with measures reported by this 
committee, Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, 
North Carolina, and South Carolina were reconstructed, and 
in June and July of 1868 readmitted into the Union. Con- 
gress had, in the mean time, passed the Civil Rights Bill, 
by which the privileges of citizenship were conferred on the 



Johnson's administration, 1865 -1869. 327 



freedmen of the South. All of these congressional enactments 
were effected over the veto of the President. 

n. Meanwhile, a difficulty had arisen in the President's 
cabinet which led to his impeachment. On the 21st of Feb- 
ruary, 1868, he notified Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War, 
of his dismissal from office. The act was regarded by Congress 
as a usurpation of authority and a violation of law. On the 
3d of March, articles of impeachment were 
agreed to by the House of Representatives, ^ 6 Ij ^P^ clunent 
and the President was summoned before 
the Senate for trial. Proceedings began on the 23d of March 
and continued until the 26th of May, when the President 
was acquitted. Chief-Justice Salmon P. Chase, one of the 
most eminent of American statesmen and jurists, presided 
during the impeachment. 

12. The time for another presidential election was already 
at hand. General Ulysses S. Grant was nominated by the 
Republicans, and Horatio Seymour, of New York, by the Dem- 
ocrats. The canvass was one of great excitement. The ques- 
tions most discussed by the political speakers were those arising 
out of the civil war. The principles advocated by the majority 
in Congress furnished the Republican platform of 1868, and on 
that platform General Grant was elected by a large majority. 
As Vice-president, Schuyler Colfax, of Indiana, was chosen. 



CHAPTER LI. 



Grant's Administration, i 869-1 877. 



ULYSSES S. GRANT, eighteenth President of the United 
States, was born at Point Pleasant, Ohio, April 27, 1822. 

At the age of seventeen he 
entered the Military Academy 
at West Point, and was gradu- 
ated in 1843. He served with 
distinction in the Mexican 
war; but his first national 
reputation was won by the 
capture of Forts Henry and 
Donelson. From that time 
he rapidly rose in rank, and 
in March, 1864, was appointed 
lieutenant-general and gen- 
eral-in-chief of the Union 
army. 

2. The first great event of 
the new administration was 
the completion of the Pacific Railroad. The first division 
of the road extended from Omaha, Nebraska, to Ogden, Utah, 
a distance of one thousand and thirty-two 
miles. The western division reached from 
Ogden to San Francisco, a distance of eight 
hundred and eighty-two miles. On the 10th of May, 1869, 
the work was completed with appropriate ceremonies. 

3. Before the inauguration of President Grant two additional 
amendments to the Constitution had been adopted. The first 
of these, known as the Fourteenth Amendment, extended the 
(328) 




Ulysses S. Grant. 



The Pacific 
Railroad. 



grant's administration, 1869- 1877. 329 



right of citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the 
United States, and declared the validity of the public debt. 
Early in 1869, the Fifteenth Amendment was adopted by Con- 
gress, providing that the right of citizens to vote shall not be 
denied or abridged on account of race, color, or previous con- 
dition of servitude. This clause was proclaimed by the Presi- 
dent as a part of the Constitution on the 30th of March, 1870. 

4. In the first three months of the same year, the reorgan- 
ization of the Southern States was completed. On the 24th of 
January, the senators and representatives of Virginia were re- 
admitted to their seats in Congress. On the 23d of February 
a like action was taken in regard to Mississippi ; and on the 
30th of March the work was finished by the readmission of 
Texas. 

5. In 1870 was completed the ninth census 

of the United States. Notwithstanding the the°Nation 
ravages of war, the past ten years had been a 
period of growth and progress. During that time the popu- 
lation had increased to thirty-eight million five hundred and 
eighty-seven thousand souls. The national debt was rapidly 
falling off. The products of the United States had grown to 
a vast aggregate. American manufacturers were competing 
with those of all nations in the markets of the world. The 
Union now embraced thirty-seven States and eleven Ter- 
ritories. The national domain had spread to the vast area of 
three million six hundred and four thousand square miles. Few 
things have been more wonderful than the territorial and 
material growth of the United States. 

6. In January of 187 1, President Grant ap- 
pointed Senator Wade of Ohio, Professor * n om ^ ngo 
r Commission. 
White of New York, and Dr. Samuel Howe 

of Massachusetts, to visit San Domingo and report upon the 
desirability of annexing that island to the United States. 
The measure was earnestly favored by the President. After 
three months spent abroad, the commissioners returned and 



33° 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



reported in favor of annexation; but the proposal met with 
opposition in Congress, and was defeated. 

7. The claim of the United States against the British gov- 
ernment for damages done by Confederate cruisers during the 
civil war still remained unsettled. After the war Great Britain 
grew anxious for an adjustment of the difficulty. On the 27th 
of February, 187 1, a joint high commission, composed of five 
British and five American statesmen, assembled at Washington 
City. From the fact that the cruiser Alabama had done most 
of the injury complained of, the claims of 

„, . the United States were called the Alabama 

Claims. 

Claims. After much discussion, the commis- 
sioners framed a treaty, known as the Treaty of Washington. 
It was agreed that all claims of either nation against the other 
should be submitted to a board of arbitration to be appointed 
by friendly nations. Such a court was formed, and in the sum- 
mer of 1872 convened at Geneva, Switzerland. The cause of 
the two nations was heard, and on the 14th of September de- 
cided in favor of the United States. Great Britain was required 
to pay into the Federal treasury fifteen million five hundred 
thousand dollars. 

8. The year 187 1 is noted in American his- 
Tlie ^^ cag0 tory for the burning of Chicago. On the even- 
ing of the 8th of October a fire broke out in 
De Koven street, and was driven by a high wind into the lum- 
ber-yards and wooden houses of the neighborhood. All the 
next day the flames rolled on, sweeping into a blackened ruin 
the most valuable portion of the city. The area burned over 
was two thousand one hundred acres, or three and a third 
square miles. Nearly two hundred lives were lost, and the 
property destroyed amounted to about two hundred millions 
of dollars. 

9. As the first term of President Grant drew to a close, the 
political parties made ready for the twenty-second presidential 
election. Many parts of the chief magistrate's policy had 



grant's administration, 1869- 1877. 



331 



been made the subjects of controversy. The congressional 
plan of reconstruction had been unfavorably received in the 
South. The elevation of the negro race to the rights of 
citizenship was regarded 
with apprehension. The 
military spirit was still rife 
in the country, and the 
issues of the civil war were 
rediscussed with much bit- 
terness. On these issues 
the people divided in the 
election of 1872. The 
Republicans renominated 
General Grant for the presi- 
dency. For the vice- presi- 
dency Mr. Colfax was suc- 
ceeded by Henry Wilson 
of Massachusetts. As the 
standard-bearer of the Lib- 
eral Republican and Demo- 
cratic parties, Horace Greeley, editor of the New York Tribune, 
was nominated. This was the last act in that remarkable man's 
career. For more than thirty years he had been a leader of 
public opinion in America. The canvass was one of wild excite- 
ment. Mr. Greeley was overwhelmingly defeated, and died in 
less than a month after the election. 

10. On the evening of the 9th of Novem- 
ber, a fire broke out on the corner of Kings- 
ton and Summer streets, Boston; spread to the 
northeast ; and continued with unabated fury until the morning 
of the nth. The best portion of the city, embracing some of 
the finest blocks in the United States, was laid in ashes. The 
burnt district covered an area of sixty-five acres. Fifteen lives, 
eight hundred buildings, and property to the value of eighty 
million dollars were lost in the conflagration. 




Horace Greeley. 



The Boston 
Fire. 



33* 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



11. In the spring of 1 8 7 2 , the Modoc Indians 

The Mo oc w ere ordered to remove from their lands on 
War. 

Lake Klamath, Oregon, to a new reservation. 
They refused to go; and in the following November, a body 
of troops was sent to force them into compliance. The Modocs 
resisted, kept up the war during the winter, and then retreated 
into a volcanic region called the lava-beds. Here, in the spring 
of 1873, the Indians were surrounded. On the nth of April, 
a conference was held between them and six members of the 
peace commission; but in the midst of the council the savages 
rose upon the kind-hearted men who sat beside them, and mur- 
dered General Canby and Dr. Thomas in cold blood. Mr. 
Meacham, another member of the commission, was shot, but 
escaped with his life. The Modocs were then besieged in their 
stronghold; but it was the 1st of June before Captain Jack 
and his band were obliged to surrender. The chiefs were 
tried by court-martial and executed in the following October. 

12. About the beginning of President 
^Mobaier lt Grant's second term, the country was agi- 
tated by the Credit Mobilier Investi- 
gation in Congress. The Credit Mobilier was a joint stock 
company, organized in 1863 for the purpose of constructing 
public works. In 1867, another company, which had under- 
taken to build the Pacific Railroad, purchased the charter of 
the Credit Mobilier, and the capital was increased to three 
million seven hundred and fifty thousand, dollars. Owing to 
the profitableness of the work, the stock rose in value and large 
dividends were paid to the shareholders. In 1872 it became 
known that much of this stock was owned by members of Con- 
gress. A suspicion that those members had voted corruptly in 
matters affecting the Pacific Railroad seized the public mind, 
and led to a congressional investigation, in the course of which 
many scandalous transactions were brought to light. 

13. In the autumn of 1873 occurred one of the most disas- 
trous financial panics ever known in the United States, The 



grant's administration, 1869- 1877. 333 



alarm was given by the failure of Jay Cooke & Company 
of Philadelphia. Other failures followed in rapid succession. 
Depositors hurried to the banks and withdrew their money. 
Business was paralyzed, and many months elapsed before con- 
fidence was sufficiently restored to enable merchants and bankers 
to engage in the usual transactions of trade. 

14. With the coming of 1876 the people 

j , 1 -1 1 ^ The Centennial 

made ready to celebrate the Centennial _ 

J Exposition. 
of American Independence. The city of 

Philadelphia was the central point of interest. There, on the 
10th of May, the great International Exposition was opened 
with imposing ceremonies. In Fairmount Park, on the Schuyl- 
kill, were erected beautiful buildings to receive the products 
of art and industry from all nations. By the beginning of 
summer these stately edifices were filled to overflowing with 
the richest products, gathered from every clime and country. 
On the 4th of July the centennial of the great Declaration 
was commemorated in Philadelphia with an impressive ora- 
tion by William M. Evarts, of New York, and a National Ode 
by the poet, Bayard Taylor. The average daily attendance of 
visitors at the Exposition was over sixty-one thousand. The 
grounds were open for one hundred and fifty-eight days ; and 
the receipts for admission amounted to more than three million 
seven hundred thousand dollars. On the 10th of November, 
the Exposition, the most successful of its kind ever held, was 
formally closed by the President of the United States. 

k. The last year of President Grant's ad- m , mm 
. 7 J . r The Sioux War. 

ministration was noted for the war with 

the Sioux. These fierce savages had, in 1867, made a treaty 
with the United States, agreeing to relinquish all of the terri- 
tory south of the Niobrara, west of the one hundred and fourth 
meridian, and north of the forty-sixth parallel. By this treaty 
the Sioux were confined to a large reservation in southwestern 
Dakota, and upon this they agreed to retire by the first of 
January, 1876. But many of the tribes continued to roam at 



334 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 





m 



Custer's Last Fight. 

large through Wyoming and Montana, burning houses, stealing 
horses, and murdering whoever opposed them. 

16. The Government now undertook to drive the Sioux upon 
their reservation. A large force of regulars, under Generals 
Terry and Crook, was sent into the mountainous country of the 
Upper Yellowstone, and the savages, to the number of several 
thousand, were crowded back against the Big Horn Mountains 
and River. Generals Custer and Reno, who were sent forward 
with the Seventh Cavalry to discover the whereabouts of the 
Indians, found them on the left bank of the Little Horn. 

17. On the 25th of June, General Custer, 
Custer s Defeat on w ^ t j lout wa iting; for reinforcements, charged 
the Little Horn, b . 

headlong with his division into the Indian 

town, and was immediately surrounded. The struggle equaled 
in desperation and disaster any other Indian battle ever fought 



grant's administration, 1869- 1877. 



335 



in America. Geiieral Custer and every man of his command 
fell in the fight. The whole loss of the Seventh Cavalry was 
two hundred and sixty-one killed, and fifty-two wounded. 
General Reno held his position, on the bluffs of the Little 
Horn, until General Gibbon arrived with reinforcements and 
saved the remnant from destruction. 

18. Other divisions of the army were soon hurried forward, 
and during the summer and autumn the Indians were beaten 
in several engagements. On the 24th of November, the Sioux 
were decisively defeated by Colonel McKenzie at a pass in the 
Big Horn Mountains. On the 5th of January, the savages were 
again overtaken and routed by the forces of Colonel Miles. 
The remaining bands, under Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, 
being able to offer no further serious resistance, escaped across 
the border into Canada. 

19. In August, 1876, Colorado took her place as the thirty- 
eighth State of the Union. The population of the " Cen- 
tennial State " numbered forty-five thousand. 

20. The twenty-third presidential election was one of the 
most exciting and critical in the history of the nation. General 
Rutherford B. Hayes, of Ohio, and William A. Wheeler, of 
New York, were chosen as candidates by the Republicans; 
Samuel J. Tilden, of New York, and Thomas A. Hendricks, 
of Indiana, by the Democrats. The Independent Greenback 
party presented as candidates Peter Cooper, of New York, and 
Samuel F. Cary, of Ohio. The canvass began early and with 
great spirit. The real contest lay between the Republicans 
and the Democrats. The election was held. The general 
result was uncertain, and both parties claimed the victory J 
The election was so evenly balanced ; there had been so much 
irregularity in the elections in South Carolina, Florida, Louisi- 
ana, and Oregon; and the power of Congress over the 
electoral proceedings was so poorly defined, that no certain 
result could be announced. For the first time in the history 
of the country, there was a disputed presidency. 



33 6 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



2 1 . When Congress convened in December, 

. . the whole question came before that body 

Commission. 1 J 

for adjustment. After much debating it was 
agreed that the disputed election returns should be referred 
for decision to a Joint High Commission, consisting of 
five members chosen from the United States Senate, five 
from the House of Representatives, and five from the Supreme 
Court. The Commission was accordingly constituted. The 
returns of the disputed States were referred to the tribunal ; 
and on the 2d of March a result was reached. The Republi- 
can candidates were declared elected. One hundred and 
eighty-five electoral votes were cast for Hayes and Wheeler, 
and one hundred and eighty-four for Tilden and Hendricks. 



CHAPTER LII. 



Hayes's Administration, i 877-1881. 



RUTHERFORD B. HAYES, nineteenth President of the 
United States, was born in Delaware, Ohio, on the 4th of 
October, 1822. His an- 
cestors were soldiers of the 
Revolution. His primary 
education was received in 
the public schools. At the 
age of twenty, he was grad- 
uated from Kenyon Col- 
lege. In 1845 he completed 
his legal studies, and began 
the practice of his profes- 
sion, first at Marietta, then 
at Fremont, and finally as 
city solicitor, in Cincinnati. 
During the Civil War he 
performed much honorable 
service in the Union cause, 
rose to the rank of major-general, and in 1864, while still in 
the field, was elected to Congress. Three years later, he was 
chosen governor of his native State, and was reelected in 1869, 
and again in 1875. 

2. In the summer of 1877, in consequence 
r i 1 1 * * 1 r Great Railroad 

of a threatened reduction m the wages of strike 

railway employes, occurred what is known as 

the Great Railroad Strike. On the 16th of July, the 

workmen of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad left their posts 

and gathered such strength in Baltimore and at Martinsburg, 

22.— U. S, Hist. ' (337) 




Rutherford B. Hayes. 



33* 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



West Virginia, as to prevent the running of trains. The militia 
was called out by Governor Matthews, but was soon dispersed 
by the strikers. The President then ordered General French 
to the scene with a body of regulars, and the blockade of the 
road was raised. 

3. Meanwhile, the trains had been stopped on all the im- 
portant roads between the Hudson and the Mississippi, and 
business was paralyzed. In Pittsburgh the strikers, rioters, 
and dangerous classes, gathering in a mob to the number of 
twenty thousand, held, for two days, a reign of terror un- 
paralleled in the history of the country. The insurrection was 
finally suppressed by the regular troops and the Pennsylvania 
militia, but not until nearly one hundred lives, and property 
to the value of more than three millions of dollars, had been 
lost. Riots also occurred, or were threatened, at Chicago, 
St. Louis, San Francisco, Cincinnati, Columbus, Louisville, 
Indianapolis, and Fort Wayne. By the close of the month, 
the alarming insurrection was at an end. 

4. In the spring of 1877 a war broke out 

Nez Perce w ^ fa e ^ ez p erc £ Indians of Idaho. The 
War. 

national authorities in 1854 purchased a part 
of the Nez Perce territory, large reservations being made in 
northwestern Idaho and northeastern Oregon, but some of the 
chiefs refused to ratify the compact, and remained at large. 
This was the beginning of difficulties. 

5. The war began with the usual depredations by the Indians. 
General Howard marched against them with a small force of 
regulars; but the Nez Perces, led by their noted chieftain 
Joseph, fled. During the greater part of summer the pursuit 
continued. In the fall they were chased through the mountains 
into northern Montana, where they were confronted by other 
troops commanded by Colonel Miles. 

6. The Nez Perces were next driven across the Missouri 
River, and were finally surrounded in their camp north of the 
Bear Paw Mountains, Here, on the 4th of October, they 



hayes's administration, 1877- 1881. 



339 



were attacked, and completely routed by the forces of Colonel 
Miles. Only a few, led by the chief White Bird, escaped. 
Three hundred and seventy-five of the 'captive Nez Perces 
were brought back to the American post on the Missouri. 

7. During the year 1877 the public mind was greatly agi- 
tated concerning the Remonetization of Silver. By the 
first coinage regulations of the United States the standard unit 

of value was the silver dollar. From 1792 

. 'i q r ^ , . Remonetizatioii 

until 1873, the quantity of pure metal m this silver 

unit had never been changed, though the 
amount of alloy contained in the dollar was altered several 
times. In 1849 a gold dollar was added to the coinage, and 
from that time forth the standard unit of value existed in both 
metals. In 1873-74 a series of acts were adopted by Con- 
gress bearing upon the standard unit of value, whereby the 
legal-tender quality of silver was abolished, and the silver 
dollar omitted from the list of coins to be struck at the 
national mints. 

8. In January, 1875, tne Resumption Act was passed by 
Congress. It was declared that on the 1st of January, 1879, 
the Government should begin to redeem its outstanding legal- 
tender notes in coin. The question was now raised as to the 
meaning of the word " coin " in the act ; and, for the first time, 
the attention of the people was aroused to the fact that the 
privilege of paying debts in silver had been taken away. A 
great agitation followed, and in 1878 a measure in Congress 
was passed over the President's veto, for the restoration of the 
legal-tender quality of the old silver dollar, and for the com- 
pulsory coinage of that unit at a rate of not less than two 
millions of dollars a month. 

9. In the summer of 1878 several of the 

Yellow Fever 

Gulf States were scourged with a Yellow _ ., . 

& Epidemic. 

Fever Epidemic. The disease made its ap- 
pearance in New Orleans, and from thence was scattered 
among the towns along the Mississippi. A regular system of 



340 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



contributions was established in the Northern States, and men 
and treasure were poured out without stint to relieve the 
suffering South. After more than twenty thousand people 
had fallen victims to the plague, the frosts of October came 
and ended the pestilence. 

10. By the Treaty of Washington (1871), it was agreed 
that the right of the United States in certain sea-fisheries 
in the neighborhood of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, hitherto 
claimed by Great Britain, should be acknowledged and main- 
tained. The government of the United States agreed to relin- 
quish the duties which had hitherto been charged on certain 
kinds of fish imported by British subjects into American har- 
bors; and, in order to balance any discrepancy, it was further 
agreed that any total advantage to the United States might 
be compensated by a gross sum to be paid by the American 
government. This sum was fixed at five million dollars in 
November, 1877, and a year later the amount was paid to 
the British government. 

11. The year 1878 witnessed the establish- 
ment Of a RESIDENT CHINESE EMBASSY at 



Washington. For twenty years the great treaty 
negotiated by Anson Burlingame had been in force between 
the United States and China. The commercial relations of 
the two countries had been vastly extended. On the 28th of 
September the embassy chosen by the imperial government 
was received by the President. The ceremonies of the occasion 
were among the most interesting ever witnessed in Washing- 
ton. The speech of Chen Lan Pin, the minister, was equal in 
dignity and appropriateness to the best efforts of a European 
diplomatist. 

12. In June, 1878, the Life Saving Ser- 
Life Saving vjce qf the tj nixed States was established 
Service. 

by act of Congress. The plan proposed the 
establishment of regular stations and lighthouses on all the 
exposed parts of the Atlantic coast and along the Great 



Mayes's administration, 1877- 1881. 



34i 



Lakes. Each station was to be manned by a band of surfmen 
experienced in the dangers peculiar to the shore in times of 
storms, and drilled in the best methods of rescue and resusci- 
tation. Boats and other appliances of the most approved 
pattern were provided and equipped. The success of the 
enterprise has been so great as to reflect the highest credit on 
its promoters. The number of lives saved through the agency 
of the service reaches to thousands annually, and the amount 
of human suffering and distress alleviated by this beneficent 
movement is beyond computation. 

13. On the 1st of January, 1879, the 

Resumption of Specie Payments was ac- - Specie 

Resumption. 

complished by the treasury of the United 

States. After seventeen years' disappearance, gold and silver 

coin, which during that time had been at a premium over the 

legal-tender notes of the government, again came into common 

circulation. 

14. The presidential election of 1880 was accompanied with 
the excitement usually attendant upon great political struggles 
in the United States. The Republican national convention was 
held in Chicago on the 2d and 3d of June; a platform of prin- 
ciples was adopted, and General James A. Garfield, of Ohio, 
was nominated for President. For Vice-president, Chester A. 
Arthur, of New York, received the nomination. The Demo- 
cratic national convention assembled at Cincinnati on the 2 2d 
of June, and nominated for the presidency General Winfleld S. 
Hancock, of New York, and for the Vice-presidency William 
H. English, of Indiana. The National Greenback party held 
a convention in Chicago on the 9th of June, and nominated 
General James B. Weaver, of Iowa, for President, and General 
Benjamin J. Chambers, of Texas, for Vice-president. The 
election resulted in the choice of Garfield and Arthur. Two 
hundred and fourteen electoral votes, embracing those of 
nearly all the Northern States, were cast for the Republican 
candidates. 



342 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



15. Soon after retiring from the presidency, 
General Grant's ~ , ^ .,, r , 

Tour General Grant, with his family and a com- 

pany of personal friends, set out to make a 
tour of the world. The expedition attracted the most 
conspicuous attention both at home and abroad. The depar- 
ture from Philadelphia on the 17th of May, 1877, was the 
beginning of such a pageant as was never before extended to 

any citizen of any nation of the 
earth. General Grant visited 
Europe, India, Burmah and 
Siam; China and Japan. In 
the fall of 1879 the party re- 
turned to San Francisco, bear- 
ing with them the highest 
tokens of esteem which the 
great nations of the Old World 
could bestow upon the honored 
representative of the New. 

16. The Census of 1880 
was undertaken with more sys- 
tem and care than ever before 
in the history of the country. 
The work was intrusted to the 
superintendency of Professor Francis A. Walker. In every 
source of national power, the development of the country was 
shown to have continued without abatement. The total popu- 
lation of the States and Territories now amounted to 50,182,525 
— an increase since 1870 of ?nore than a 7nillion in habitants a 
year / The center of population had moved westward about 
fifty miles, to the vicinity of Cincinnati. 

17. During the administration of Hayes 
several eminent Americans passed from the 
scene of their earthly activities. On the 1st 
of November, 1877, the distinguished senator, Oliver P. Morton, 
died of paralysis at his home in Indianapolis. His reputation 




Oliver P. Morton. 



Oliver P. 
Morton. 



Hayes's administration, 1877- 1881. 343 

in his own State and throughout the Union was very great, 
and his sterling character had won the respect even of his 
political enemies. As War Governor of Indiana, he had been 
one of the main pillars of support to the Union in the trying 
days of the Civil War. After that event he had become one of 
the foremost men of the nation. Although but fifty-four years 
of age, he had risen to be a recognized leader in American 
statesmanship. His death was regarded as a public calamity, 
and the Nation, without distinction of party, joined with his 
own State in doing honor to the memory of the great dead. 

18. Still more universally felt was the loss of the great poet 
and journalist, William Cullen Bryant, who on the 12th of June, 
1878, at the advanced age of eighty-four, passed from among 
the living. For more than sixty years his name had been known 
and honored wherever the English language was spoken. On 
the 19th of December, in the same year, the illustrious Bayard 
Taylor, who had recently been appointed American Minister to 
the German Empire, died suddenly in the city of Berlin. His 
life had been exclusively devoted to literary work ; and almost 
every department of letters, from the common tasks of journal- 
ism to the highest charms of poetry, had been adorned by his 
genius. On the 1st day of November, 1879, Zachariah Chan- 
dler, of Michigan, one of the organizers of the Republican 
party, and a great leader of that party in the times of the civil 
war, died suddenly at Chicago ; and on the 24th day of April, 
1 88 1, the noted publisher and author, James T. Fields, died at 
his home in Boston. 



CHAPTER LIII. 



Administration of Garfield and Arthur, i 881-1885. 

TAMES A. GARFIELD, twentieth President of the United 
J States, was born at Orange, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, No- 
vember 19, 1 83 1. He was left in infancy to the sole care of 
his mother and to the rude surroundings of a backwoods home. 
In boyhood he served as a driver and pilot of a canal boat ply- 
ing the Ohio and Pennsylvania canal. At the age of seventeen 



field was elected by the people of his district to the lower 
house of Congress. In 1879 he was elected to the United 
States Senate, and hard upon this followed his nomination and 
election to the presidency. American history has furnished 
but few instances of a more steady and brilliant rise, from the 




he attended the High School 
in Chester, was afterwards a 
student at Hiram College, 
and in 1854 entered Williams 
College, from which he was 
graduated with honor. 



James A. Garfield. 



2. In the same year, Gar- 
field returned to Ohio, and 
was made first a professor and 
afterwards president of Hiram 
College. This position he 
held until the outbreak of the 
Civil War, when he left his 
post to enter the army. In 
the service he rose to distinc- 
tion, and while still in the 



(344) 



GARFIELD'S ADMINISTRATION, 1 88 1. 



345 



poverty of an obscure boyhood, to the most distinguished elec- 
tive office in the gift of mankind. 

3. On the 4th of March, 1881, President Garfield delivered 
his inaugural address, and the new administration entered upon 
its course with omens of an auspicious future. But its pros- 
pects were soon darkened with political diffi- 
culties. A division arose in the ranks of the T ^ e Spo ^ s 

System." 

Republican party. The two wings of the 
Republicans were nicknamed the " Stalwarts " and the " Half- 
Breeds " : the former, headed by Senator Conkling of New 
York; the latter, led by Mr. Blaine, Secretary of State, and 
indorsed by the President himself. The Stalwarts claimed the 
right of dispensing the appointive offices of the Government, 
after the manner which had prevailed for many preceding ad- 
ministrations ; the President, supported by his division of the 
party, insisted on naming the officers in the various States 
according to his own wishes. 

4. The chief clash between the two influences in the party 
occurred in New York. The collectorship of customs for the 
port of New York is the best appointive office in the Govern- 
ment. To fill this position the President nominated Judge 
William Robertson, and the appointment was antagonized by 
the New York senators, Conkling and Piatt, who, failing to 
prevent the confirmation of Robertson, resigned their seats, 
returned to their State, and failed of a reelection. 

5. A few days after the adjournment of the Senate in June, the 

President, in company with Secretary Blaine 

a r c • j a. j . 1 -1 -J-. , . Assassination of 
and a few friends, entered the railroad depot at preg Garfield 

Washington to take the train for Long Branch, 
New Jersey. A moment afterwards he was approached by a 
miserable miscreant, who, unperceived, came within a few feet 
of the company, drew a pistol, and fired upon the Chief Magis- 
trate. The shot struck the President in the back, and inflicted 
a dreadful wound. The bleeding chieftain was borne away 
to the executive mansion, and the wretch who had committed 



346 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



President Arthur 
Installed. 



ton. 




the crime was hurried to prison. For eighty days the stricken 
President lingered between life and death, bearing the pain and 
anguish of his situation with a fortitude and heroism rarely 
witnessed among men ; but at half-past ten on the evening of 
September 19th, the anniversary of the battle of Chickamauga, 
his vital powers suddenly gave way, and in a few moments 
death closed the scene. 

6. On the day following this deplorable 
event, Vice-president Arthur took the oath of 
office in New York, and repaired to Washing- 
Chester A. Arthur was born in Vernon, Franklin County, 
Vermont, October 5, 1830. He was of Irish descent, and was 

educated at Union College, 
from which institution he 
was graduated in 1849. For 
awhile he taught school in 
lv his native State, and then 
; . came to New York City to 
study law. During the civil 
•L ; war he was Quartermaster- 
General of the State of 
IP New York. After 1865 he 
ffr returned to the practice of 
law, and in 1871 was ap- 
pointed Collector of Cus- 
toms for the port of New 
York. This position he held until July, 1878, when he was 
removed by President Hayes. Again he returned to his law 
practice, but was soon called by the voice of his party to be a 
standard-bearer in the Presidential canvass of 1880. 

7. The administration of President Arthur proved to be un- 
eventful. The government pursued the even tenor of its way, 
and the progress of the country was unchecked by calamity. 
Several important scientific inventions were perfected about 
this time, and several great public works completed. 



Chester A. Arthur. 



Arthur's administration, 1881-1885. 347 



8. One of the best examples of the appli- 
cation of scientific discovery to the affairs of 

J Inventions, 
every-day life is that of the Telephone. It 

has remained for our day to discover the possibility of trans- 
mitting or reproducing the human voice at a distance of 
hundreds or even thousands of miles. By means of a simple 
contrivance, a person in one part of the country is able 
to converse with friends in another part, as if face to face. 
The invention of this wonderful instrument is to be credited 
to Professor A. Graham Bell, of Massachusetts, and Elisha P. 
Gray, of Chicago. It should be mentioned, also, that Pro- 
fessor A. C. Dolbear, of Tufts College, and the great inventor, 
Thomas A. Edison, have succeeded in the production of tele- 
phonic instruments. 

9. Another recent invention is the Phonograph. It is the 
nature of the phonograph to receive and retain the wave-lines 
and figures of sound, whether of the human voice or some 
other sound, and by an ingenious contrivance to reproduce 
those sounds as if they were the original utterance. It is to 
be regretted that thus far the phonograph has proved to be 
of little or no practical utility. 

10. But perhaps the greatest invention of the age is the 
Electric Light. About 1870 it was first proposed to use 
electricity for practical illumination. Long before this time 
the possibility of electric lighting had been shown by the phil- 
osopher Gramme, of Paris. About the same time the Russian 
scientist, Jablokoff, also succeeded in converting electricity into 
light. It remained, however, for the great American inventor, 
Thomas A. Edison, to remove the difficulties in the way of 
electric lighting, and to make the invention practical. The 
systems produced by him and others are rapidly taking the 
place of the old methods of illumination. 

it. Among the great public works may be mentioned the 
East River Bridge, joining New York with Brooklyn, which 
was opened with appropriate ceremonies on the 24th of May, 



348 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



1883. This structure is the largest of the 
Great Public , . A . ij u • • -j 

Works m world, being a suspension bridge, 

with a total length of 5,989 feet. The span 
from pier to pier is 1,595 feet; and the estimated capac- 
ity of resistance is 49,200 tons* The engineer under whose 
direction the great bridge was constructed was Mr. John A. 
Roebling, who may properly be regarded as the originator of 
wire suspension bridges. Though he did not live to see the 
completion of the work which he had planned, the same was 
taken up and finished by his son, scarcely less noted than his 
father. 

12. The recurrence of the birthday of Washington, 1885, 
was noted for the completion of the great monument, erected 
at the Capital, in honor of the Father of his Country. The 
cost of the completed structure was about $1,500,000. The 
shaft of the monument, exclusive of the foundation, is 555 feet 
in height, being 30 feet higher than the cathedral of Cologne, 
and 75 feet higher than the pyramid of Cheops. 

13. In the last year of Arthur's administration the command 
of the army of the United States was transferred from General 
William T. Sherman to General Philip H. Sheridan. The former 
eminent soldier, having reached the age at which, according to 
Act of Congress, he might retire from active service, availed 
himself of the provision, and laid down the command which 
he had so long and honorably held. Nor could it be said that 
the new General, to whom the command of the American 
army was now given, was less a patriot and soldier than his 
eminent predecessor. 

14. During this administration there was a 
Disappearance of dual obHteration of those sharply denned 
Political Issues 

issues which for a quarter of a century had 
divided the two great political parties. Partisan animosity in 
some measure abated, and it was with difficulty that the man- 
agers were able to direct the people in the political contest 
of 1884. The issue most clearly denned was that of tariff and 



Arthur's administration, 1881-1885. 349 

free trade, and even this, when much discussed, tended to break 
up both the existing political organizations. 

15. During the year 1883 many distinguished men were 
named for the presidential office. The first national conven- 
tion was that of the Greenback-Labor party, held at Indian- 
apolis, in April of 1884. By this party, General Benjamin 
F. Butler, of Massachusetts, and A. N. West, of Texas, were 
put in nomination. The Republican convention met on the 3d 
of June, in Chicago, and, after a session of three days, closed 
its labors by the nomination of James G. Blaine, of Maine, and 
General John A. Logan, of Illinois. The Democratic con- 
vention met in the same city, on the 9th of July, and chose 
for its standard-bearers Grover Cleveland, of New York, and 
Thomas A. Hendricks, of Indiana. The result showed that 
the Democratic party had drawn to its banners a majority of 
the American people. Cleveland and Hendricks were elected, 
receiving 219 ballots in the Electoral College, against 182 votes 
which were cast for Blaine and Logan. 



CHAPTER LIV. 



Cleveland's Administration, i 885-1 889. 



THE new President was inaugurated on the 4th of March, 
1885. Perhaps the history of the country has furnished 
no other example of such rapid rise to great distinction. Grover 
Cleveland, twenty-second President of the United States, was 



trict Attorney for Erie County. In 1869 he was elected Sheriff 
of the same county, and in 1881 he was chosen mayor of 
Buffalo. In 1882 he was elected governor of New York, 
receiving for that office a plurality of more than 190,000 votes. 
Before his term of office had expired he was called by the 
voice of his party to be its standard-bearer in the presidential 
campaign of 1884, in which he was again successful. 

2. The last months of Arthur's and the first of Cleveland's 
administration were noted for the International Cotton 
Exposition at New Orleans. This, after the Centennial Ex- 




Grover Cleveland. 



born in Caldwell, New Jersey, 
March 18th, 1837. With his 
father he removed to Fayette- 
ville, New York, in 1840. Here 
the youth grew to manhood. 
His education was obtained 
in the common schools and 
academies of the neighbor- 
hood. In 1857 he removed 
to New York City, and be- 
came a student of law. In 
1859 he was admitted to the 
bar, and four years afterwards 
was appointed Assistant Dis- 



(350) 



Cleveland's administration, 1885- 1889. 351 

position of 1876, was the greatest display of 

the kind ever held in the United States. _ 

Exposition. 

The Exposition extended from December 
of 1884 to June of 1885, and was daily attended by thou- 
sands of visitors from all parts of the United States and from 
many foreign countries. The display was varied and full of 
interest. Intended, in the first place, to exhibit the wonderful 
resources of the South in her peculiar products, the exhibition 
was enlarged to include all branches of production and every 
species of mechanism and art. Among the incidental benefits 
of the Exposition may be mentioned the increased intercourse 
and consequent friendliness of the people of the Northern and 
Southern States. 

3. The first year of Cleveland's administration was unevent- 
ful. The great question before the President was that of the 
Reform of the Civil Service. In attempting to substitute 
a new series of rules for appointment to office, by which the 
persons appointed should be selected rather for their fitness 
than for their party services, the President was greatly embar- 
rassed. He found that the old forces in American politics were 
as active as ever, and that a reform was almost impossible under 
existing conditions. 

4, The first great national event of the 

Cleveland administration was that of the . mj _ „ 

Agitations. 

Labor Agitations, which broke out in the 
spring of 1886. It was not until after the Civil War that the 
first symptoms appeared of a renewal, in the New World, of 
the struggle which has been long going on in Europe between 
Capital and Labor. The first difficulties of this sort in our 
country appeared in the mining regions, and in the factories 
of the Eastern States. The agitation soon spread to the West. 
As early as 1867 the peculiar method of action, called "strik- 
ing," began among the laborers of the country. An account of 
the great railroad strike of 1877 has already been presented. 
(Pages 337 and 338.) 



35 2 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



5. At the same time monopolies sprang up and flourished; 
and, coincident with this, American labor discovered the salu- 
tary but dangerous power of combination. When the trade 

season of 1886 opened, a series of strikes and 
The Southwestern , , , , , , . , 

Strike labor troubles broke out m several parts 

of the country. The cities and towns were 

most involved in these agitations. The first serious conflict was 

on what is known as the Gould System of Railways, in the 

Southwest. A single workman, belonging to the Knights 

of Labor, and employed on a branch of the Texas and 

Pacific Railway, was discharged from his place. This action 

was resented by the Knights, and the laborers on a great 

part of the Gould System were ordered to strike. The 

movement was, for a season, successful, and the transportation 

of freights from St. Louis to the Southwest ceased. Gradually, 

however, other workmen were substituted for the striking 

Knights; but the end was not reached until a severe riot in 

East St. Louis had occasioned the sacrifice of much property 

and several innocent lives. 

6. Far more alarming was the outbreak in 

T . he C1 ^ ag0 Chicago. In that city the socialistic and 
Anarchists. & J 

anarchic elements were sufficiently powerful 

to present a bold front to the authorities. Processions bear- 
ing red flags and banners, with communistic devices and 
mottoes, frequently paraded the streets, and were addressed by 
demagogues who avowed themselves the open enemies of soci- 
ety and the existing order. On the 4th of May, 1886, a vast 
crowd of this reckless material collected in a place called the 
Haymarket, and were about to begin the usual inflammatory 
proceedings, when a band of policemen, mostly officers, drew 
near, with the evident purpose of controlling or dispersing the 
meeting. 

7. A terrible scene ensued. Dynamite bombs were thrown 
from the crowd and exploded among the officers, several of 
whom were blown to pieces, and others shockingly mangled. 



Cleveland's administration, 1885 -1889. 353 



The mob was, in turn, attacked by the police, and many of the 
insurgents were shot down. Order was presently restored in 
the city ; several of the leading anarchists were arrested on the 
charge of inciting to murder, were tried, condemned, and four 
of them executed. On the day following the Chicago riot, a 
similar, though less dangerous, outbreak, which was suppressed 
without serious loss of life, occurred in Milwaukee. 

8. The summer of 1886 is memorable on 

account of the great natural catastrophe T ^, e ^karleston 
known as the Charleston Earthquake. 
On the night of the 31st of August, at ten minutes before ten 
o'clock, without a moment's warning, the city of Charleston, 
S. C, was rocked and rent to its very foundations. Hardly a 
building in the limits of Charleston, or in the country surround- 
ing, escaped serious injury; and perhaps one half of all were 
in a state of semi- wreck or total ruin. 

9. The whole coast in the central region of the disturbance 
was modified with respect to the sea, and the ocean itself was 
thrown into turmoil for miles from the shore. The people 
in the city fled from their falling houses to the public squares 
and parks and far into the country. Afraid to return into the 
ruins, they threw up tents and light booths for protection, and 
abode for weeks away from their homes. Nothing before in 
the limits of our knowledge has been at all comparable with it 
in extent and violence, except the great earthquake of New 
Madrid in 181 1. 

10. The disaster to Charleston served to bring out some of 
the better qualities of our civilization. Personal assistance and 
contributions from all quarters poured in for the support 
and encouragement of the afflicted people. For several weeks 
a series of diminishing shocks continued to terrify the citizens ; 
but it -was discovered that these shocks were only the dying 
away of the great convulsion, and that they gave cause for 
hope of entire cessation rather than continued alarm. In 
the course of a few months the ruins were cleared away, 
23.— U. S. Hist. 



354 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

business was resumed, and the people were again safe in their 
homes. 

ii. On the 4th of March, 1887, the second session of the 
Forty-ninth Congress expired. The work of the body had not 
been so fruitful of results as had been desired and anticipated 
by the friends of the government. On the question of the 
tariff nothing of value was accomplished. A measure of Rev- 
enue Reform had been brought forward at an early date in 
the session, but the act failed of adoption. 

12. On the question of Extending the 
Pension Legis- ^ T , xl -,. r 

. ^ & Pension List, however, the case was dif- 
lation. 

ferent. A great majority of both parties 
favored such measures as looked to the increase of benefits to 
the soldiers. At the first, only a limited number of pensions 
had been granted, and these only to actually disabled or injured 
veterans of the War for the Union. But it became more and 
more important to each of the parties to secure and hold the 
soldier vote, without which it was felt that neither could main- 
tain ascendency in the government. The Arrears of Pen- 
sions Act, making up to those who were already recipients of 
pensions such amounts as would have accrued if the benefit 
had dated from the time of disability, instead of from the time 
of granting the pension, was passed in 1879; and at the same 
time the list of pensioners was greatly enlarged. 

13. The measure presented in the Fiftieth Congress was 
designed to extend the pension list so as to include all regu- 
larly enlisted and honorably discharged soldiers of the Civil 
War, who had become in whole, or in part, dependent upon the 
aid of others for their maintenance. The measure was known 
as the Dependent Pensions Bill. Many opposed the enact- 
ment of a law which appeared to give the bounty of the gov- 
ernment to the deserving and the undeserving alike, and to 
compel the worthy recipients of pensions to rank themselves 
with those who had gone into the army for pay, and had been 
brought to want through improvidence A majority was easily 



Cleveland's administration, 1885 -1889. 355 



obtained for the measure in both Houses of Congress, and the 
act was passed. President Cleveland, however, interposed his 
veto, and the proposed law fell to the ground. 

14. The most important and noted legislation of the session 
was the act known as the Inter-State Commerce Bill. For 
some fifteen years complaints against the methods and man- 
agement of the railways of the United States had been heard 
on many sides, and in cases not a few the complaints had 
originated in actual abuses. A large class of people became 
clamorous that Congress should compel railways to accept 
a system of uniformity as to all charges for service rendered. 
With this object in view the Inter-State Commerce Bill was 
accordingly prepared, and became a law. 

15. In the spring of 1885 it became known 

that General Ulysses S. Grant was stricken . _ . 

J nent Generals. 

with a fatal malady. The announcement at 
once drew to the General and ex-President the interest and 
sympathies of the whole American people. The hero of Vicks- 
burg and Appomattox sank under the ravages of a malignant 
cancer, which had fixed itself in his throat. On the 23d of July, 
1885, he expired at a summer cottage on Mount McGregor, 
New York. His last days were hallowed by the love of the 
nation which he had so gloriously defended. No funeral west 
of the Atlantic — not even that of Lincoln — was more univer- 
sally observed. The procession in New York City was perhaps 
as imposing a pageant as was ever exhibited in honor of the 
dead. On the 8th of August the body of General Grant was laid 
to rest in Riverside Park, overlooking the Hudson. There, on 
the summit from which may be seen the great river and the 
metropolis of the nation, is the tomb of him whose courage and 
magnanimity in war will forever give him rank with the few 
master spirits who have honored the human race and changed 
the course of history. 

16. Within scarcely more than a year from the funeral of 
Grant several other distinguished Union Generals fell. On the 



35 6 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Death of Promi- 
nent Civilians. 



29th of October General George B. McClellan died at his home 
at St. Cloud, New Jersey. After another brief interval General 
Winfield S. Hancock, senior Major- General of the American 
Army , breathed his last. In the mean time, within a brief period, 
Generals Irwin McDowell, Ambrose E. Burnside, Joseph Hook- 
er, and George G. Meade, each of whom, in a critical period of 
the war, had commanded the Army of the Potomac, passed 
away. Before the close of 1886 Major-General John A. Logan, 
greatest of the volunteer commanders, who, without previous 
military education, won for themselves distinguished honors in 
the War for the Union, fell sick and died at his home, called 
Calumet Place, in Washington City. 

17. In the mean time, several distinguished 
civilians had passed away. On the 25th of 
November, 1885, Vice-president Thomas A. 
Hendricks, after an illness of a single day, died suddenly at his 
home in Indianapolis. The life of Mr. Hendricks had been one 

of singular purity as well as 
of greatness. His character 
had been noted for its mild- 
ness and serenity in the 
stormy arena of politics. The 
goodness of the man in pri- 
vate life, combined with his 
distinction as governor, sena- 
tor, and Vice-president of the 
United States, drew from the 
people every evidence of 
public and private respect 
for his memory. The body 
of the dead statesman was 
buried in Crown Hill ceme- 
tery, near Indianapolis. The 
funeral pageant surpassed in grandeur any other display of the 
kind ever witnessed in the Western States, except the funeral 




Thomas A. Hendricks. 



Cleveland's administration, 1885 -1889. 357 

of Lincoln. Shortly after his death, the funds were easily sub- 
scribed by the people, for the erection of the magnificent bronze 
monument and statue standing at one of the entrances to. the 
Capitol of Indiana. 

18. The death of Hendricks was soon followed by that of 
Horatio Seymour, of New York. On the 12th of February, 
1886, this distinguished citizen, who had been governor of the 
Empire State, and a candidate for the Presidency against Gen- 
eral Grant, died at his home in Utica. Still more distinguished 
in reputation and ability was Samuel J. Tilden, also of New 
York, who died at his home, called Greystone, at Yonkers, near 
New York City, on the 4th of August, 1886. 

19. To this list of deaths must be added the illustrious name 
of Henry Ward Beecher. To him, with little reservation, must 
be assigned the first place among our orators and philanthro- 
pists. He had the happy fortune to retain his faculties un- 
impaired to the close of his career. On the evening of the 
5th of March, 1887, at his home in Brooklyn, he sank down 
under a stroke of apoplexy. He was nearing the close of his 
seventy-fourth year. He lived until the morning of the 8th, 
and quietly entered the shadows. He was followed to the 
grave by the common eulogium of mankind, and every circum- 
stance of his passing away showed that he had occupied the 
supreme place among men of his class in America. 

20. On the 23d of March, 1888, Morrison R. Waite, Chief- 
Justice of the United States, died at his home in Washington 
City. The death of this able jurist imposed on President 
Cleveland the duty of naming his successor. Judge Melville 
W. Fuller, of Chicago, was appointed, and confirmed on the 
30th of April, 1888. 

21. During the whole of Cleveland's administration, the 
public mind was swayed and excited by the movements of 
politics. The universality of partisan newspapers, the com- 
bination in their columns of all the news of the world with the 
invectives and misrepresentations of party leaders, kept political 



358 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



questions constantly uppermost to the detriment of social pro- 
gress and industrial interests. Scarcely had President Cleve- 
land entered upon his office as chief magistrate when the 
question of the succession to the Presidency was agitated. 

22. By the last year of the administration it was seen that 
there would be no general break-up of the existing parties. 
It was also perceived that the issues between them must be 
made rather than found in the existing state of affairs. The 
sentiment in the United States in favor of the Constitutional 
prohibition of the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors 
had become somewhat extended and intensified since the last 
general election. But the discerning eye might perceive that 
the real issue was between the Republican and Democratic 
parties. 

23. One issue, however, had a living and 
^ Tariff ^ practical relation to affairs, and that was the 
question of Protection to American In- 
dustry. Since the campaign of 1884, the agitation had been 
gradually extended. At the opening of the session, in 1887, 
the President, in his annual message to Congress, devoted 
the whole document to the discussion of the single question 
of a Reform of the Revenue System of the United States. 
The existing rates of duty on imported articles of commerce 
had so greatly augmented the income of the Government, that 
a large surplus had accumulated in the treasury of the United 
States. This fact was made the basis of the President's argu- 
ment in favor of a new system of revenue, or at least an ample 
reduction in the tariff rates under the old. It was immedi- 
ately charged by the Republicans, that the project in question 
meant the substitution of the system of Free Trade in the 
United States as against the system of protective duties. The 
question thus involved was made the bottom issue in the 
Presidential campaign of 1888. 

24. The Democratic National Convention was held in St. 
Louis on the 5th day of June, 1888, and Mr. Cleveland was 



Cleveland's administration, 1885-1889. 359 



renominated by acclamation. For the Vice-presidential nomi- 
nation the choice fell on ex-Senator Allen G. Thurman, of 
Ohio. The Republican National Convention was held in 
Chicago, on the 19th day of June. Many candidates were 
ardently pressed upon the body, and the contest was long and 
spirited. The voting was continued to the eighth ballot, 
when the choice fell upon Benjamin Harrison, of Indiana. 
In the evening, Levi P. Morton, of New York, was nominated 
for the Vice-presidency on the first ballot. 

25. In the mean time, the Prohibition party had held its 

National Convention at Indianapolis, and on the 30th of May 

had nominated for the Presidency General Clinton B. Fisk, of 

New Jersey, and for the Vice-presidency John 

A. Brooks, of Missouri. The Democratic plat- e / rty at " 
7 1 forms. 

form declared for a reform of the revenue sys- 
tem of the United States, and reaffirmed the principle of adjust- 
ing the tariff on imports with strict regard to the actual needs 
of governmental expenditure. The Republican platform de- 
clared also for a reform of the tariff schedule, but at the same 
time stoutly affirmed the maintenance of the protective system 
as a part of the permanent policy of the United States. Both 
parties deferred to the patriotic sentiment of the country in favor 
of the soldiers. The Prohibitionists entered the campaign, on 
the distinct proposition that the manufacture and sale of intoxi- 
cating liquors should be prohibited throughout the United 
States by Constitutional amendment. To this was added a 
clause in favor of extending the right of suffrage to women. 

26. As the canvass progressed during the summer and autumn 
of 1888, it became evident that the result was in doubt. The 
contest was exceedingly close. The result showed success for 
the Republican candidate. He received 233 electoral votes, 
against 168 votes for Mr. Cleveland. The latter, however, ap- 
peared to a better advantage on the popular count, having a 
considerable majority over General Harrison. General Fisk, 
the Prohibition candidate, received nearly three hundred thou- 



3 6 ° 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



sand votes ; but, under the system of voting, no electoral vote 
of any State was obtained for him. 

27. The last days of Cleveland's adminis- 
tration and of the Fiftieth Congress were sig- 

JN6W btcltGS. 

nahzed by the admission into the Union of 
Four New States, making the number forty-two. In 1887 
the question of dividing Dakota Territory by a line running 
east and west was agitated, and the measure finally prevailed. 
Steps were taken by the people of both sections for admission 
into the Union. Montana, with her 146,080 square miles of 
territory, had meanwhile acquired a sufficient population ; and 
Washington Territory, with its area of 69,180 square miles, also 
knocked for admission. In the closing days of the Fiftieth 
Congress a bill was passed raising all of these four Territories 
— South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, and Washington — 
to the plane of Statehood. The Act contemplated the adop- 
tion of State Constitutions, and a proclamation of admission by 
the next President. It thus happened that the honor of bring- 
ing in this great addition to the States of the Union was divided 
between the outgoing and incoming administrations. 

28. Another Act of Congress was also of 
Agricultural LDe- nat j ona i importance. Hitherto the govern- 

partment. 1 , . . t , 1 

ment had been administered through seven 

departments, at the head of each of which was placed a Cabi- 
net officer, the seven together constituting the advisers of the 
President. Early in 1889 a measure was brought forward in 
Congress, and adopted, for the institution of a new depart- 
ment, to be called the Department of Agriculture. Practically 
the measure involved the elevation of what had previously 
been an Agricultural Bureau in the Department of the Interior, 
to the rank of a Cabinet office. Hitherto, though agriculture 
has been the greatest of all the producing interests of the 
people, it has been neglected for more political and less useful 
departments of American life and enterprise. 



CHAPTER LV. 



Harrison's Administration, 1889 . 

BENJAMIN HARRISON, twenty-third President of the 
United States, was born at North Bend, Ohio, on the 20th 
of August, 1833. He is a grandson of President William 
Henry Harrison, and a great-grandson of Benjamin Harrison, 
signer of the Declaration of 
Independence. 

2. Harrison's early home 
was on a farm. He was a 
student at the institution 
called Farmers' College, for 
two years. Afterwards, he 
attended Miami University, 
at Oxford, Ohio, and was 
graduated therefrom in June, 
1852. He took in marriage 
the daughter of Dr. John W. 
Scott, President of the Uni- 
versity. After a course of 
study, he entered the pro- # 
fession of law, removed to Indianapolis, and established him- 
self in that city. With the outbreak of the war he became a 
soldier of the Union, and rose to the rank of Brevet Brigadier- 
General of Volunteers. Before the close of the war, he was 
elected Reporter of the decisions of the Supreme Court of 
Indiana. 

3. In the period following the Civil War, General Harrison 
rose to distinction as a civilian. In 1876 he was the unsuc- 
cessful candidate of the Republican party for governor of In- 

(361) 




362 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



diana. In 1881 he was elected to the United States Senate, 
where he won the reputation of a leader and statesman. In 
1884, his name was prominently mentioned in connection with 
the Presidency; and in 1888 it was found that he, more than 
any other, combined in himself all the elements of a successful 
candidate. The event justified the choice of the party in 
making him the standard-bearer in the ensuing campaign. 

4. General Harrison was inaugurated President on the 4th of 
March, 1889. His Cabinet appointments were as follows: 
Secretary of State, James G. Blaine, of Maine ; Secretary of 
the Treasury, William Windom, of Minnesota; Secretary of 
War, Redfield Proctor, of Vermont; Secretary of the Navy, 
Benjamin F. Tracy, of New York ; Postmaster-General, John 
Wanamaker, of Pennsylvania ; Secretary of the Interior, John 
W. Noble, of Missouri ; Attorney- General, William H. H. 
Miller, of Indiana; and Secretary of Agriculture — the new 
department— Jeremiah Rusk, of Wisconsin. 

5. As the more fertile and accessible public 

Oklahoma lands in the Mississippi valley were gradually 
taken up, new settlers began to cast envious 
eyes upon Indian Territory, and especially upon a central 
region, called Oklahoma, or the "beautiful country," which 
was supposed to be very fertile. Several illegal attempts were 
made by bands of adventurers to settle upon these lands, and 
the military had been employed to eject the " Oklahoma 
Boomers," as the intruders were called. 

6. The Indian title to Oklahoma had gradually been ac- 
quired by the United States, and one of the first acts of Presi- 
dent Harrison was to issue a proclamation declaring that this 
region, embracing nearly 3000 square miles, should be thrown 
open to public settlement at noon of April 22, 1889. 

7. As this date approached, settlers to the number of over 
ten thousand collected and formed camps along the south- 
ern boundary of Kansas, and, at the hour named, made a 
wild race to Oklahoma across the intervening strip of Indian 



Harrison's administration, 1889- 



3^3 



Territory. Towns were started in several localities, and within 
a few days the region had a population of more than 30,000. 
Though the country proved somewhat less fertile than had 
been supposed, the new community continued to grow, and 
the following year, with greatly enlarged boundaries and 
a population of 62,000, was organized as the Territory of 
Oklahoma. 

8. Within two months after Harrison's in- 

lA i r- Centennial of the 

auguration occurred the Centennial of the Republic 

American Republic. On the 30th of April, 
1789, the Father of his Country had taken the oath of office and 
entered upon his duties as first President of the United States, and 
the corresponding date in 1889 was fixed upon for the centen- 
nial celebration of the event. The holidays in the metropolis 
included the 29th and 30th days of April and the 1st day of 
May. The event drew to New York the largest concourse of 
people ever seen at one place within the limits of the United 
States. Fully half a million strangers visited the city and were 
present at the ceremonies. 

9. The close of the year 1888 and the be- 

r 00 iji 1 The Samoan Diffi- 

gmning of 1889 were marked by a dangerous 

complication between the United States and 
Germany relative to the Samoan Islands. In order to settle 
the difficulty, the President of the United States sent three 
commissioners to Berlin, to confer with the German Govern- 
ment. The result was wholly satisfactory to the United States. 
The attitude and demand of the American Government in 
favor of the independence of Samoa, under its native sovereign, 
were supported by the decision of the commissioners, and the 
difficulty ended with the recognition of King Malietoa. 

10. The last week of May, 1889, was memorable in the his- 
tory of our country for the destruction of Johnstown, Pennsyl- 
vania. ' That city lay at the junction of a stream, known as the 
South Fork, with the Conemaugh River. Several miles up the 
South Fork some wealthy fishermen had constructed a dam and 



3 6 4 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



a reservoir, where the waters had accumulated 
The Johnstown . , , n c . i 

J , ^. m an immense volume. lhe level of the 

Inundation. 

lake was high above the valley and the city. 
During the last days of May heavy rains fell, and the country 
was inundated. On the afternoon of the 31st of the month, 
the dam which held the lake in place was burst asunder, and 
the deluge of waters poured suddenly down the valley. Every- 
thing was swept away by the flood. Johnstown, a manufactur- 
ing city, was totally wrecked, and thrown in an indescribable 
mass against the aqueduct of the Pennsylvania Railway below 
the town. Here the ruins caught fire, and the wild shrieks of 
hundreds of miserable victims were heard above the roar of 
the deluge and the conflagration. The heart of the nation 
responded quickly to the sufferings of the people, and mil- 
lions of dollars in money and supplies were poured into the 
Conemaugh valley to relieve the destitution of those who sur- 
vived the calamity. 

11. The work of the fifty-first Congress was 
^ 3 ^^ inley marked with much partisan bitterness and ex- 
citement. The first question which occupied 
the attention of the body was the revision of the tariff. On this 
question the political parties were strongly opposed to each other. 
The policy of the Republican party, though the platform of 
1888 had declared for a revision of the tariff, was favorable to 
the perpetuation of the protective system as a part of the per- 
manent policy of the Government. The Democrats favored 
a great reduction in the . existing^ rates of duties, and the 
ultimate adoption of the principle of free trade. What was 
known as the McKinley Bill was introduced into Congress, and 
finally adopted, by which the Republican policy was incorpo- 
rated as a part of the governmental system. The average rate 
of import duties was raised from about forty-seven per cent, to 
more than fifty -three per cent. ; but in a few instances the ex- 
isting duties were abolished, and in the case of raw sugar a 
bounty to the producers was provided instead. 



Harrison's administration, 1889 . 365 



12. Early in the session a serious difficulty 

arose in the House of Representatives between Counting a 
1 Quorum, 
the Democrats and the Speaker, Thomas B. 

Reed, of Maine. The Republican majority in the House was 

not large, and the minority were easily able in matters of party 

legislation to break the quorum by refusing to vote. In order 

to counteract this policy, a new system of rules was reported 

empowering the Speaker to count the minority as present 

whether voting or not, and thus to compel a quorum. These 

rules were violently resisted by the Democrats, and Speaker 

Reed was denounced by his opponents as an unjust officer. It 

was under the provision of the new rule that nearly all of the 

party measures of the fifty-first Congress were adopted. 

13. One of the most important of these was 

the attempt to pass through Congress what ^ 
was known as the Force Bill, by which it was 
proposed to transfer the control of the Congressional elections 
in the States of the Union, from State to National authority. 
This measure provoked the strongest opposition, part of which 
arose within the Republican party. In the Senate certain Re- 
publicans refused to support the bill, and it was finally laid 
aside for the consideration of other business. 

14. A third measure was the attempt to re- 
store silver to a perfect equality with gold in ^TsUver^ 
the coinage of the country. Since 1874 there 

had been an increasing difference in the purchasing power of 
the two money metals of the country. That is, the purchasing 
power of gold had, in the last fifteen years, risen about fifteen 
per cent., while the purchasing power of silver had fallen about 
five per cent, in the markets of the world. One class of theo- 
rists, assuming that gold is the only invariable standard of 
values, insisted that this difference in the purchasing power of 
the two metals had risen wholly from a depreciation in the price 
of silver; while the opposing class argued that the difference 
had arisen most largely from an increase in the purchasing 



3 66 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



power of gold, and that equal legislation and equal favor shown 
to the two money metals would bring them to par, the one with 
the other, and keep them in that relation in the markets of 
the world. 

15. The advocates of free coinage claimed that the laws dis- 
criminating against silver and in favor of gold were impolitic, 
unjust, and un-American. They urged that the free coinage 
of silver would be of vast advantage to the financial interests 
of the country. This view, however, was strongly opposed by 
the money centers and by the fund-holding classes, to whom 
the payment of all debts according to the highest standard of 
value — that is, in gold only — was a fundamental principle. 
A bill for the free coinage of silver was passed by the Senate, 
but rejected by the House, and the question was handed over 
to the next Congress. 

16. This Congress passed the necessary acts 

Idaho and ^ ^ ac [ m i ss i on of Idaho and Wyoming as 
Wyoming. J 

the forty-third and forty-fourth States re- 
spectively. Idaho was admitted with a population of 84,385, 
on the 3d of July, 1890 ; while on the 10th of the same month 
60,705 souls were added to the Union with the State of Wyoming. 

17. The Eleventh Decennial Census of the 

United States was taken in Tune, 1890. Its 
Census. . 

results indicated that the population of the 

country had increased to 62,622,250, exclusive of Indians not 
taxed, and whites in Alaska and Indian Territory. These swell 
the grand total to about 63,000,000 souls. Indiana was found 
to contain 2,195,404 inhabitants, and to include, near the 
hamlet of Westport in Decatur County, the center of popula- 
tion of the United States. 

18. Meanwhile three other great leaders of 

Death of ^ e Q{ y [\ War passed away by death. On the 
General Sheridan. r . . 

5 th of August, 1888, Lieutenant- General Sheri- 
dan, at that time Commander-in-chief of the American army, 
died at his home in Nonquitt, Massachusetts. Few other 



Harrison's administration, 1889 . 367 



generals of the Union army had won greater admiration and 
higher honors. He was in many senses a model soldier, and 
his death at the comparatively early age of fifty-seven was 
the occasion of great grief throughout the country. 

19. Still more conspicuous was the fall of 

General William T. Sherman. Among the ~ . 

General Sherman. 

Union commanders in the great Civil War he 
stood easily next to Grant in greatness and reputation. In 
vast and varied abilities, particularly in military accomplish- 
ment, he was perhaps superior to all. Born in 1820, he reached 
the mature age of seventy-one, and died at his home in New 
York on the 14th day of February, 1891. The event pro- 
duced a profound impression. Sherman, more than any other 
great military captain of his time, had shunned and put aside 
political ambition. Of his sterling patriotism there was never 
a doubt. As to his wonderful abilities, all men were agreed. 
His remains were taken under escort from New York to St. 
Louis, where they were deposited in the family burying 
grounds in Mount Calvary cemetery. 

20. After the death of General Sherman, 

only two commanders of the first class re- ~ Deat ^° f 
: General Johnston. 

mamed on the stage of action from the great 

Civil War — both Confederates. These were Generals Joseph 
E. Johnston and James Longstreet. The former of these was 
destined to follow his rival and conqueror at an early day to 
the land of rest. General Johnston, who had been an honor- 
ary pall bearer at the funeral of Sherman, contracted a heavy 
cold on that occasion, which resulted in his death on the 20th 
of February, 1891, at his home in Washington City. Gen- 
eral Johnston was in his eighty-third year at the time of his 
decease. Among the Confederate commanders none were his 
superiors, with the single exception of Lee. After the close 
of the war, his conduct had been of a kind to win the con- 
fidence of Union men ; and at the time of his death he was 
held in almost universal honor. 



3 68 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



21. In February of 189 1 a serious event 
The New Orleans occurre( j m th e c ity of New Orleans. There 
Massacre. J 

existed m that metropolis a secret social or- 
ganization among the Italians, known as the Mafia Society. 
The principles of the brotherhood involved mutual protection 
and even the law of revenge against enemies. Several breaks 
occurred between members of the society and the police author- 
ities of the city, and the latter, by arrest and prosecution, 
incurred the dislike and hatred of the former. The difficulty 
grew until at length Captain David C. Hennessey, chief of the 
police, was assassinated by some secret murderer or murderers, 
who for the time escaped detection. It was believed, however, 
that the Mafia Society was at the bottom of the assassination, 
and several members of the brotherhood were arrested under 
the charge of murder. 

22. A trial followed, and the circumstances tended to estab- 
lish the guilt of the prisoners. But the proof was not positive, 
and the first three of those on trial were acquitted. A great 
excitement followed this decision, and charges were published 
that the jury had been bribed or terrorized with threats into 
making a false verdict. On the following day a public meeting 
was called, and a great crowd gathered around the statue of 
Henry Clay, standing in one of the public squares. Speeches 
were made. A mob was organized and directed against the 
jail where the Italian prisoners were confined. The jail was 
entered by force. The prisoners were driven from their cells, 
and nine of them were shot to death in the court of the prison. 
Two others were dragged forth and hanged. Nor can it be 
doubted that the innocent as well as the guilty suffered in the 
slaughter. 

23. The event was followed by intense public excitement. 
The affair became of national, and then of international, im- 
portance. The Italian minister, Baron Fava, at Washington, 
entered his solemn protest against the killing of his countrymen, 
and the American Secretary of State communicated with King 



HARRISON'S ADMINISTRATION, 1889 . 369 

Humbert on the subject. The Italian societies in other Amer- 
ican cities passed angry resolutions against the destruction of 
their fellow-countrymen by the mob; and the newspapers of 
the country teemed with discussions of the subject. Threats 
of war were heard between Italy and the United States ; but 
the more thoughtful looked with confidence to the settlement 
of the question by peaceable means. 

24. The History of our Country has thus been traced 
from the times of the aborigines to the present day. The story is 
done. The Republic has passed through stormy times, but has 
at last entered her second century in safety and peace. The 
clouds that were recently so black overhead have broken, and 
are sinking behind the horizon. The equality of all men before 
the law has been written with the iron pen of war in the Con- 
stitution of the Nation. The Union of the States has been 
consecrated anew by the blood of patriots and the tears of 
the lowly. The temple of freedom reared by our fathers still 
stands in undiminished glory. The Past has taught its 
Lesson; the Present has its Duty; and the Future 
its Hope. 



24.— U. S. Hist. 



370 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Review Questions. — Part VII. 

CHAPTER L. 

1. Tell about the thirteenth amendment. 

2. Trace the reconstruction measures of President Johnson's adminis- 
tration. 

3. Give an account of the purchase of Alaska. 

4. Tell about the Atlantic cable. 

chapter li. 

5. Give an account of the adoption of the fourteenth and fifteenth 
amendments. 

6. Detail the Alabama Claims controversy and tell how it was settled. 

7. Tell about the great fires of 1871-72. 

8. Outline the Indian troubles with the Modocs and the Sioux. 

9. Give an account of the Credit Mobilier. 

10. Tell about the Centennial exposition. 

11. Give an account of the contested election of 1876, and how it was 
adjusted. 

chapter lie 

12. Tell about the railroad strikes in the early part: of President Hayes's 
administration. 

13. Give an account of the troubles with the Nez Perce Indians. 

14. Give the leading Congressional measures of these four years. 

15. Tell about General Grant's tour around the world. 

CHAPTER LIIL 

16. Give an account of the presidency and death of Garfield. 

17. Outline the presidency of Arthur and the progress of applied science 
during his term of office. 

CHAPTER LIV. 

18. State the general condition and trace the measures of Cleveland's 
administration. 

19. Tell about the Charleston earthquake. 

20. What great leaders of the Civil War died during these four years ? 

CHAPTER LV. 

21. Give an account of the election of President Harrison, and of his 
entrance upon office. 

22. Summarize the leading events which have occurred during his ad- 
ministration. 



APPENDIX. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 

We, the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect 
union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the com- 
mon defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of 
liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Consti- 
tution for the United States of North America. 

ARTICLE I. 

Section I. — All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a 
Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House 
of Representatives. 

Sec. 2. — The House of Representatives shall be composed of members 
chosen every second year by the people of the several States, and the elec- 
tors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the 
most numerous branch of the State legislature. 

No person shall be a representative who shall not have attained to the age 
of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United States, 
and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State in which 
he shall be chosen. 

Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several 
States which may be included within this Union, according to their re- 
spective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole num- 
ber of free persons, including those bound to service for a term of years, and 
excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other persons. The actual 
enumeration shall be made within three years after the first meeting of 
the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent term 
of ten years, in such manner as they shall by law direct. The number of 
representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand; but each 
State shall have at least one representative ; and until such enumeration 
shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to choose 

(37i) 



37 2 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



three ; Massachusetts, eight ; Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, 
one ; Connecticut, five ; New York, six ; New Jersey, four ; Pennsylvania, 
eight; Delaware, one; Maryland, six; Virginia, ten; North Carolina, 
five; South Carolina, five; and Georgia, three. 

When vacancies happen in the representation from any State, the exec- 
utive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies. 

The House of Representatives shall choose their speaker and other offi- 
cers ; and shall have the sole power of impeachment. 

Sec. 3. — The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two 
senators from each State, chosen by the legislature thereof, for six years; 
and each senator shall have one vote. 

Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of the first 
election, they shall be divided, as equally as may be, into three classes. 
•'The seats of the senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expira- 
tion of the second year ; of the second class, at the expiration of the fourth 
year ; and of the third class at the expiration of the sixth year, so that one 
third may be chosen every second year ; and if vacancies happen, by 
resignation or otherwise, during the recess of the legislature of any State, 
the executive thereof may make temporary appointments until the next 
meeting of the legislature which shall then fill such vacancies. 

No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained to the age of 
thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United States, and who 
shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State for which he shall 
be chosen. 

The Vice-president of the United States shall be president of the Senate, 
but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided. 

The Senate shall choose their other officers, and also a president pro 
tempore, in the absence of the Vice-president, or when he shall exercise 
the office as President of the United States. 

The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. When 
sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. When the 
President of the United States is tried, the chief-justice shall preside ; and 
no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two thirds of the 
members present. 

Judgment, in cases of impeachment, shall not extend further than to re- 
moval from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, 
trust, or profit under the United States ; but the party convicted shall, 
nevertheless, be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment, and 
punishment, according to law. 

Sec. 4. — The times, places, and manner of holding elections for sena- 
tors and representatives shall be prescribed in each State by the legisla- 



APPENDIX. 



373 



ture thereof; but the Congress may, at any time, by law, make or alter 
such regulations, except as to the places of choosing senators. 

The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year ; and such 
meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by 
law appoint a different day. 

Sec. 5. — Each house shall be the judge of the elections, returns, and 
qualifications of its own members ; and a majority of each shall constitute 
a quorum to do business ; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to 
day, and may be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members, 
in such manner and under such penalties as each house may provide. 

Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its mem- 
bers for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two thirds, 
expel a member. 

Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time to 
time publish the same, excepting such parts as may in their judgment re- 
quire secrecy ; and the yeas and nays of the members of either house, on 
any question, shall, at the desire of one fifth of those present, be entered 
on the journal. 

Neither house, during the session of Congress, shall, without the con- 
sent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place 
than that in which the two houses shall be sitting. 

Sec. 6. — The senators and representatives shall receive a compensa- 
tion for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the treas- 
ury of the United States. They shall, in all cases except treason, felony, 
and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance 
on the session of their respective houses, and in going to and returning 
from the same; and, for any speech or debate in either house, they shall 
not be questioned in any other place. 

No senator or representative shall, during the time for which he was 
elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United 
States which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall 
have been increased, during such time; and no person holding any office 
under the United States shall be a member of either house during his 
continuance in office. 

Sec. 7. — All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of 
Representatives ; but the Senate may propose or concur with amend- 
ments, as on other bills. 

Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and 
the Senate, shall, before it become a law, be presented to the President of 
the United States; if he approve he shall sign it; but if not, he shall return 



374 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



it, with his objections, to that house in which it shall have originated, who 
shall enter the objections at large on their journal, and proceed to recon- 
sider it. If, after such reconsideration, two thirds of that house shall 
agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the 
other house, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and, if approved 
by two thirds of that house, it shall become a law. But, in all such cases, 
the votes of both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays; and the 
names of the persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered on 
the journal of each house respectively. If any bill shall not be returned 
by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have 
been presented to him, the same shall be a law in like manner as if he had 
signed it, unless the Congress by their adjournment prevent its return, in 
which case it shall not be a law. 

Every order, resolution, or vote, to which the concurrence of the Senate 
and House of Representatives may be necessary (except. on a question of 
adjournment), shall be presented to the President of the United States; 
and, before the same shall take effect, shall be approved by him, or, being 
disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and 
House of Representatives, according to the rules and limitations pre- 
scribed in the case of a bill. 

Sec. 8. — The Congress shall have power: — 

To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay the debts, 
and provide for the common defense and general welfare, of the United 
States; but all duties, imposts, and excises shall be uniform throughout 
the United States : 

To borrow money on the credit of the United States : 

To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several 
States, and with the Indian tribes : 

To establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on the 
subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States : 

To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix 
the standard of weights and measures : 

To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and cur- 
rent coin of the United States : 

To establish post-offices and post-roads : 

To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for 
limited times, to authors and inventors, the exclusive right to their respec- 
tive writings and discoveries: 

To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court: 
To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, 
and offenses against the law of nations : 



APPENDIX. 



375 



To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules 
concerning captures on land and water : 

To raise and support armies ; but no appropriation of money to that use 
shall be for a longer term than two years : 

To provide and maintain a navy : 

To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval 
forces : 

To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, 
suppress insurrections, and repel invasions : 

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia, and for 
governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the 
United States, reserving to the States respectively the appointment of the 
officers, and the authority of training the militia according to the discipline 
prescribed by Congress : 

To exercise exclusive legislation, in all cases whatsoever, over such dis- 
trict (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular 
States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of government of 
the United States, and to exercise like authority over all places purchased 
by the consent of the legislature of the State in which the same shall be, 
for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and other needful 
buildings: — And 

To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into 
execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Con- 
stitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or 
officer thereof. 

Sec. 9. — The migration or importation of such persons, as any of the 
States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited 
by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight ; 
but a tax, or duty, may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten 
dollars for each person. 

The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless 
when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it. 

No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed. 

No capitation or other direct tax shall be laid, unless in proportion to 
the census, or enumeration, hereinbefore directed to be taken. 

No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any State. No 
preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce or revenue to the 
ports of one State over those of another; nor shall vessels bound to or 
from one State be obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties, in another. 

No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in consequence of 
appropriations made by law; and a regular statement and account of the 



37^ 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published from time 
to time. 

No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States ; and no person 
holding any office of profit or trust under them shall, without the consent 
of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title of any 
kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state. 

Sec. io. — No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation ; 
grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; emit bills of credit; 
make any thing but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts ; 
pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation 
of contracts; or grant any title of nobility. 

No State shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any imposts or 
duties on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely necessary 
for executing its inspection laws ; and the net produce of all duties and 
imposts laid by any State on imports or exports, shall be for the use of 
the treasury of the United States; and all such laws shall be subject to 
the revision and control of the Congress. No State shall, without the con- 
sent of Congress, lay any duty of tonnage, keep troops or ships of war in 
time of peace, enter into any agreement or compact with another State or 
with a foreign power, or engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in such 
imminent danger as will not admit of delay. 

ARTICLE II. 

Section i. — The executive power shall be vested in a President of 
the United States of America. He shall hold his office during the term 
of four years, and together with the Vice-president, chosen for the same 
term, be elected as follows : — 

Each State shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature thereof may 
direct, a number of electors equal to the whole number of senators and 
representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress; but 
no senator or representative, or person holding an office of trust or profit 
under the United States, shall be appointed an elector. 

The electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by ballot for 
two persons, of whom one, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the & same 
State with themselves. And they shall make a list of all the persons 
voted for, and of the number of votes for each ; which list they shall sign 
and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the 
United States, directed to the president of the Senate. The president of 
the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and Hou«e of Representa- 
tives, open all the certificates ; and the votes shall then be counted. The 



Appendix. 



377 



person having the greatest number of votes shall be the President, if such 
number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed ; and if 
there be more than one who have such majority, and have an equal num- 
ber of votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately choose, 
by ballot, one of them for President ; and if no person have a majority, 
then, from the five highest on the list, the said house shall, in like manner, 
choose the President. But, in choosing the President, the votes shall be 
taken by States, the representation from each State having one vote ; a 
quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two 
thirds of the States; and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to 
a choice. In every case, after the choice of the President, the person 
having the greatest number of votes of the electors shall be Vice-presi- 
dent. But, if there should remain two or more who have equal votes, the 
Senate shall choose from them, by ballot, the Vice-president. 

The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors, and the 
day on which they shall give their votes ; which day shall be the same 
throughout the United States. 

No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States 
at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the 
office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who 
shall not have attained to the age of thirty-five years, and been fourteen 
years a resident within the United States. 

In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death, 
resignation, or inability to discharge the powers or duties of the said 
office, the same shall devolve on the Vice-president ; and the Congress 
may, by law, provide for the case of removal, death, resignation, or in- 
ability, both of the President and Vice-president, declaring what officer 
shall then act as President; and such officer shall act accordingly, until 
the disability be removed, or a President shall be elected. 

The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services a compen- 
sation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the period 
for which he shall have been elected ; and he shall not receive within that 
period any other emolument from the United States or any of them. 

Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take the follow- 
ing oath or affirmation: — 

" I do solemnly swear (or affirm \ that I will faithfully execute the office 
of President of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability, pre- 
serve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States." 

Sec. 2. — The President shall be commander-in-chief of the army and 
navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several States, when 
called into the actual service of the United States ; he may require 



37» 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the execu- 
tive departments, upon any subject relating to the duties of their respec- 
tive offices, and he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for 
offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment. 

He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
to make treaties, provided two thirds of the senators present concur ; and 
he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
shall appoint, ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls, judges of 
the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States, whose ap- 
pointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be es- 
tablished by law ; but the Congress may, by law, vest the appointment of 
such inferior officers as they think proper, in the President alone, in the 
courts of law r , or in the heads of departments. 

The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may happen 
during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions, which shall ex- 
pire at the end of their next session. 

Sec. 3. — He shall, from time to time, give to the Congress informa- 
tion of the state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such 
measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extra- 
ordinary occasions, convene both houses, or either of them, and, in case of 
disagreement between them with respect to the time of adjournment, he 
may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper ; he shall receive 
ambassadors and other public ministers ; he shall take care that the laws 
be faithfully executed ; and shall commission all the officers of the United 
States. 

Sec. 4. — The President, Vice-president, and all civil officers of the 
United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for and con- 
viction of treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. 

ARTICLE III. 

Section i. — The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in 
a Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may from 
time to time ordain and establish. The judges, both of the supreme and 
inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good behavior ; and shall, at 
stated times, receive for their services a compensation, which shall not be 
diminished during their continuance in office. 

Sec 2. — The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and 
equity, arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United States, and 



APPENDIX. 



379 



treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority ; to all cases 
affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls ; to all cases of 
admiralty and maritime jurisdiction ; to controversies to which the United 
States shall be a party ; to controversies between two or more States, be- 
tween a State and citizens of another State, between citizens of different 
States, between citizens of the same State claiming lands under grants of 
different States, and between a State, or the citizens thereof, and foreign 
States, citizens, or subjects. 

In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, 
and those in which a State shall be a party, the Supreme Court shall have 
original jurisdiction. In all the other cases before mentioned, the Supreme 
Court shall have appellate jurisdiction both as to law and fact, with such 
exceptions, and under such regulations, as the Congress shall make. 

The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by jury; 
and such trial shall be held in the State where the said crimes shall have 
been committed ; but, when not committed within any State, the trial shall 
be at such place or places as the Congress may by law have directed. 

Sec. 3. — Treason against the United States shall consist only in levy- 
ing war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and 
comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony 
of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court. 

The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason, 
but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood or forfeiture, 
except during the life of the person attainted. 



ARTICLE IV. 

Section i. — Full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the 
public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other State. And 
the Congress may by general laws prescribe the manner in which such 
acts, records, and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof. 

Sec. 2. — The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges 
and immunities of citizens in the several States. 

A person charged in any State with treason, felony, or other crime, who 
shall flee from justice, and be found in another State, shall, on demand of 
the executive authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, 
to be removed to the State having jurisdiction of the crime. 

No person held to service or labor in one State under the laws thereof, 
escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation 



3 8o 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



therein, be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered 
up on claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be due. 

Sec. 3. — New States may be admitted by the Congress into this 
Union ; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the jurisdic- 
tion of any other State ; nor any State be formed by the junction of two 
or more States, or parts of States, without the consent of the legislature of 
the States concerned, as well as of the Congress. 

The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful rules 
and regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging to the 
United States ; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as 
to prejudice any claims of the United States, or of any particular State. 

Sec. 4. — The United States shall guarantee to every State in this 
Union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them 
against invasion ; and on application of the legislature, or of the executive 
(when the legislature can not be convened), against domestic violence. 

article v. 

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both houses shall deem it neces- 
sary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution ; or, on the application 
of the legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a conven- 
tion for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid, 
to all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by 
the legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by conventions 
in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may 
be proposed by the Congress ; Provided, that no amendment, which may 
be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, shall in 
any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the 
first article ; and that no State, without its consent, shall be deprived of its 
equal suffrage in the Senate. 

ARTICLE VI. 

All debts contracted, and engagements entered into, before the adoption 
of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this 
Constitution as under the Confederation. 

This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be 
made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made, or which shall be made, 
under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the 
land ; and the judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any thing in 
the constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding. 



APPENDIX. 



The senators and representatives before mentioned, and the members 
of the several State legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both 
of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by oath or 
affirmation to support this Constitution ; but no religious test shall ever 
be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United 
States. 

ARTICLE VII. 

The ratification of the conventions of nine States shall be sufficient for 
the establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the 
same. 

Done in Convention by the unanimous consent of the States present, the 
seventeenth day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven 
hundred and eighty-seven, and of the Independence of the United States 
of America the twelfth. In witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed 
our names. 

George Washington, President, 

and Deputy from Virginia. 

New Hampshire. — John Langdon, Nicholas Gilman. 
Massachusetts. — Nathaniel Gorham, Rufus King. 
Connecticut. — William Samuel Johnson, Roger Sherman. 
New York. — Alexander Hamilton. 

New Jersey. — William Livingston, David Bearly, William Patterson, 
Jonathan Dayton. 

Pennsylvania. — Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Mifflin, Robert Morris, 
George Clymer, Thomas Fitzsimons, Jared Ingersoll, James Wilson, 
Gouverneur Morris. 

Delaware. — George Read, Gunning Bedford, Jr., John Dickinson, 
Richard Bassett, Jacob Broom. 

Maryland. — James McHenry, Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, Daniel 
Carroll. 

Virginia. — John Blair, James Madison, Jr. 

North Carolina. — William Blount, Richard Dobbs Spaight, Hugh 
Williamson. 

South Carolina. — John Rutledge, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, 
Charles Pinckney, Pierce Butler. 
Georgia. —William Few, Abraham Baldwin. 

Attest: William Jackson, Secretary. 



3 82 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION. 



ARTICLE I. 

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or 
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech 
or of the press ; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to 
petition the government for a redress of grievances. 

ARTICLE II. 

A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, 
the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. 

ARTICLE III. 

No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without the 
consent of the owner; nor in time of war, but in a manner to be pre- 
scribed by law. 

ARTICLE IV. 

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, 
and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be vio- 
lated ; and no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by 
oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, 
and the person or things to be seized. 

article v. 

No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous 
crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in 
cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia when in actual 
service in time of war or public danger ; nor shall any person be subject, 
for the same offense, to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb ; nor 
shall be compelled, in any criminal case, to be a witness against himself; 



APPENDIX. 



383 



nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law ; 
nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compen- 
sation. 

ARTICLE VI. 

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy 
and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the 
crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously 
ascertained bylaw; and to be informed of the nature and cause of the 
accusation ; to be confronted with the witnesses against him ; to have 
compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor; and to have the 
assistance of counsel for his defense. 

ARTICLE VII. 

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed 
twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved; and no fact 
tried by a jury shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United 
States than according to the rules of the common law. 

ARTICLE VIII. 

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor 
cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 

ARTICLE IX. 

The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights, shall not be con- 
strued to deny or disparage others retained by the people. 

ARTICLE X. 

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor 
prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to 
the people. 

ARTICLE XI. 

The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to ex- 
tend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one 



3*4 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



of the United States by citizens of another State, or by citizens or subjects 
of any foreign State. 

ARTICLE XII. 

The electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by ballot for 
President and Vice-president, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhab- 
itant of the same State with themselves ; they shall name in their ballots 
the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted 
for as Vice-president; and they shall make distinct lists of all persons 
voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-president, and 
of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify and 
transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed 
to the president of the Senate ; the president of the Senate shall, in the 
presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certifi- 
cates, and the votes shall then be counted; the person having the greatest 
number of votes for President shall be President, if such number be a 
majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if no person 
have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers, 
not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House 
of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. 
But, in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by States, the rep- 
resentation from each State having one vote; a quorum for this purpose 
shall consist of a member or members from two thirds of the States, and 
a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. And if the 
House of Representatives shall not choose a President, whenever the right 
of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next 
following, then the Vice-president shall act as President, as in the case of 
the death or other constitutional disability of the President. 

The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-president 
shall be the Vice-president, if such number be a majority of the whole 
number of electors appointed; and if no person have a majority, then 
from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the 
Vice-president; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two thirds of 
the whole number of senators, and a majority of the whole number shall 
be necessary to a choice. 

But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall 
be eligible to that of Vice-president of the United States. 

ARTICLE XIII. 

Section I. — Neither slavery nor voluntary servitude, except as a 
punishment for crime, w r hereof the party shall have been duly convicted, 



APPENDIX. 



shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their 
jurisdiction. 

Sec. 2. — Congress shall have power to enforce this Article by appro- 
priate legislation. 

ARTICLE XIV. 

Section i. — All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and 
subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of 
the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law 
which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United 
States ; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, 
without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction 
the equal protection of the laws. 

Sec. 2. — Representatives shall be apportioned among the several 
States, according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number 
of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the 
right to vote at any election for choice of electors for President and Vice- 
president of the United States, representatives in Congress, the executive 
and judicial officers of a State, or the members of the legislature thereof, 
is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State being twenty-one 
years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, 
except for participation in rebellion or other crime, the basis of represen- 
tation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of 
such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty- 
one years of age in such State. 

Sec. 3. — No person shall be a senator, or representative in Congress, 
or elector of President and Vice-president, or hold any office, civil or mili- 
tary, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously 
taken an oath as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, 
or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer 
of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have 
engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or 
comfort to the enemies thereof ; but Congress may, by a vote of two thirds 
of each house, remove such disability. 

Sec. 4. — The validity of the public debt of the United States author- 
ized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions, and boun- 
ties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be 
questioned. But neither the United States, nor any State, shall assume or 
25.— U. S. Hist. 



3 86 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion 
against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of 
any slave ; but all such debts, obligations, and claims shall be held illegal 
and void. 

Sec. 5. — The Congress shall have power to enforce by appropriate 
legislation the provisions of this Article. 

ARTICLE XV. 

Section i. — The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall 
not be denied or abridged by the United States, or by any State, on ac- 
count of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. 

Sec. 2. — The Congress shall have power to enforce this Article by ap- 
propriate legislation. 



INDEX. 



A 

Abercrombie, General, defeat of, at 
Ticoncleroga, 143. 

Abraham, Plains of, battle of, 146. 

Acadia, named, 39 ; conquered by the 
English, 141. 

Acadians, exile of the, 141. 

Act, the Importation, 150 ; the Stamp, 
151; the Embargo, 219; the Con- 
scription, 308; the Resumption, 339. 

Adams, John, predicts American In- 
dependence, 150; nominates Wash- 
ington, 161 ; on Declaration Com- 
mittee, 165; Commissioner to Paris, 
197 ; elected first Vice-president„202 ; 
reelected Vice-president, 208 ; elec- 
ted President, 210; administration 
of, 211-213 ; death of, 249. 

Adams, John Quincy, Secretary of 
State, 244; elected President, 247; 
sketch of, 248; administration of, 
248, 249. 

Adams, Samuel, at Boston town- 
meeting, 150. 

Agricultural Department, estab- 
lished, 360. 

Aix-la-Chapelle, treaty of, 93. 

Alabama, admission of, 246. 

Alabama Claims, the, 330. 

Alabama, depredations by the, 315. 

Alaska, purchase of, 325. 

Algiers, tribute paid to, 210 ; subdued 
by Decatur, 242. 

Alexander, Pope, gives New World 
to Spain, 43. 

Algonquins, regions inhabited by 
the, 16. 

Allen, Ethan, captures Fort Ticon- 
deroga, 159. 

America, discovery of, 25 ; derivation 
of name, 26. 

Amendments to the Constitution, 
fourteenth and fifteenth, 328. 

Amherst, general-in- chief of Ameri- 
can forces, 144. 

Amnesty proclamation, the, 324. 

Anarchists, the Chicago, 352. 

Anderson, Robert, defends Fort 
Sumter, 282. 

Andr6, John, capture of, 191. 

Andros, Sir Edmund, royal governor 
of New England, 86 ; demands sur- 
render of Connecticut charter, 87 ; 
governor of New York, 101 ; treaty 
of with the Iroquois, 102. 



Antietam, battle of, 301. 
Anti-Federalist party, the, 201. 
Appomattox Courthouse, surrender 

at, 319. 
Arctic expeditions, 272. 
Argall, Samuel, abducts Pocahontas, 

65; expedition against Acadia, 65; 

elected governor of Virginia, 67. 
Arizona Territory, organization of, 

325. 

Arkansas, organization of Territory, 
246 ; admission of State, 253. 

Arlington, Earl of, grant of Virginia 
to, 73 ; surrenders claim to Culpep- 
per, 75. 

Arnold, Benedict, at Ticonderoga, 
159; expedition against Canada, 
162 ; at camp on Delaware, 172 ; at 
Bemis's Heights, 174; treason of, 
190 ; in British army, 192. 

Arthur, Chester A., elected Vice- 
president, 341 ; becomes President, 
346; sketch of , 346 ; administration 
Of, 346-349. 

Atlanta, capture of, 312. 

Aztecs, regions inhabited by the, 16. 

B 

Bacon, Nathaniel, rebellion led by, 

74. 

Balboa discovers the Pacific, 27. 
Ball's Bluff, battle of, 291. 
Baltimore, Lord, secures charter for 

!tfew Maryland, 122. 
Baltimore, siege of, 238 ; mob at fire 

on Union soldiers, 282. 
Bank of North America, organization 

of, 192. 

Bank of the United States, organiza- 
tion of, 207 ; rechartered, 242 ; re- 
chartering vetoed by Jackson, 250; 
rechartering vetoed by Tyler, 258. 

Banks, N. P.,in West Virginia, 297 ; at 
Cedar Mountain, 300 ; captures Port 
Hudson, 304 ; Red River expedition 
of, 310. 

Barclay, Commodore, on Lake Erie, 
229. 

Battle of Antietam, 301 ; Atlanta, 312 ; 
Ball's Bluff, 291 ; Bemis's Heights, 
174 ; Bennington, 173 ; Brandywine, 
175 ; Brier Creek, 185 ; Buena Vista, 
264 ; Bull Run, 289, 300 ; Bunker 
Hill, 159 ; Cerro Gordo, 264 ; Cham- 
pion Hills, 303 ; Chancellorsville, 307 ; 

(387) 



3 88 



HISTORY OF THE 



UNITED STATES. 



Chapultepec, 267 ; Chickamauga, 
304; Chippewa, 235; Chrysler's Field, 
232 ; Churubusco, 266 ; City of Mex- 
ico, 265 ; Cold Harbor, 316 ; Corinth, 
297; Cowpens, 193; Eutaw Springs, 
195 ; Fair Oaks, 299 ; Five Oaks, 319 ; 
Fort Edward, 142 ; Fort Meigs, 228 ; 
Fort Stephenson, 229; Fredericks- 
burg, 301; Frenchtown, 228; Ger- 
mantown, 176; Gettysburg, 308; 
Guilford Courthouse, 194 ; Kenesaw 
Mountain, 311 ; King's Mountain, 
189; Lake Erie, 229; Long Island, 166; 
Lookout Mountain, 305; Lundy's 
Lane, 235 ; Malvern Hill, 299; Mis- 
sionary Ridge, 305 ; Monmouth, 180; 
Monterey, 263 ; Murfreesborough, 
297 ; Nashville, 312 ; New Orleans, 
241 ; Palo Alto, 262 ; Plains of Abra- 
ham, 145 ; Plattsburgh, 237 ; Prince- 
ton, 171; Queenstown, 226; Resaca 
de la Palma, 262 ; Sag Harbor, 171 ; 
Sander's Creek, 188; San Gabriel, 
264 ; Saratoga, 174 ; Savannah, 183 ; 
Shiloh, 293; Spottsylvania Court- 
house, 316 ; Talladega, 231 ; Thames, 
230 ; Tippecanoe, 223 ; Trenton, 169 ; 
Vera Cruz, 264 ; Vicksburg, 303 ; 
White Plains, 168 ; Wilson's Creek, 
290 ; Yorktown, 196. 

Beecher, Henry Ward, death of, 357. 

Bell, A. Graham, inventor of tele- 
phone, 357. 

Bellomont, Earl of, governor of New 
York, 103. 

Bemis's Heights, battle of, 174. 

Bennington, battle of, 264. 

Berkeley, Sir William, governor of 
Virginia, 71 ; elected by burgesses, 
72 ; rebellion against, 74 ; oppression 
by, 75 ; grant of New Jersey to, 115 ; 
sells interest, 116. 

Beverlev, Robert, royalist captain,74. 

Black Hawk War, the, 251. 

Blaine, James G., Secretary of State 
under Garfield, 345 ; nominated for 
President, 349; Secretary of State 
under Harrison, 362. 

Block, Adrian, explorations by, 55. 

Body of Liberties, 82. 

Boone, Daniel, colonizes Kentucky, 
208. 

Booth, John Wilkes, assassinates 
Lincoln, 321 ; death of, 321. 

Boston, founded, 79; occupied by 
British, 154 ; massacre at, 154 ; tea 
party, 155 ; Port Bill, 156 ; siege of, 
159-164 ; fire in, 331. 

Braddock, Edward, arrives in Amer- 
ica, 139 ; defeat and death of, 140. 

Bradford, John, landing of, 51. 

Bradford, William, governor of Mas- 
sachusetts, 77. 

Bragg*, Braxton, at Murfreesborough, 
297 ; at Chickamauga, 304 ; at Look- 
outMountain and Missionary Ridge, 
305. 



Brandywine, battle of, 175. 

Breckinridge, John C, elected Vice- 
president, 274; commands Confed- 
erate cavalry, 317. 

Breed's Hill, fortification of, 159. 

Brier Creek, battle of, 185. 

Brooklyn Bridge, construction of 
the, 347. 

Brown, John, insurrection led by, 
276. 

Bryant, William Cullen, death of, 
343. 

Buchanan, James, Secretary of State, 
261 ; elected President, 274 ; sketch 
of, 275 ; administration of, 275-277. 

Buckner, S. B., defends Fort Donel- 
son, 293. 

Buena Vista, battle of, 264. 

Bull Run, battles of, 289, 300. 

Bunker Hill, battle of, 159. 

Burgesses, House of, organized, 67 ; 
scene in, 152. 

Burgoyne, Gen., campaign of, 172- 
175 ; surrender of, 175. 

Burnside, Ambrose E., takes com- 
mand of Army of the Potomac, 301 ; 
at Fredericksburg, 301; death of, 
356. 

Burr, Aaron, elected Vice-president, 
213; duel with Hamilton, 217; 
schemes of, 217. 

Butler, Benjamin F., at New Orleans, 
296 ; at Fort Fisher, 314 ; joins Grant 
at Bermuda Hundred, 316; nomi- 
nated for presidency, 349. 

C 

Cabinet, the first, 205. 

Cable, Atlantic, laying of the, 275, 

325. 

Cabot, John, voyage and discoveries 
of, 41. 

Cabot, Sebastian, voyage and explor- 
ations of, 42. 

Calhoun, John C, Secretary of War, 
244 ; elected Vice-president, 247 ; for 
nullification, 251 ; death of, 272. 

California, conquest of, 264; dis- 
covery of gold in, 267; admission 

Of, 268. 

Californians, regions inhabited by 
the, 16. 

Calvert, Sir Cecil, charter issued to, 
123. 

Calvert, Sir George, in Maryland, 122. 
Cambridge, named, 81. 
Canadian insurrection, the, 256. 
Canonehet, King, violates treaty, 84 ; 

death of, 85. 
Canonicus, King of the Narragan- 

setts 307. 

Capitol of the United States, location 

of the, 213. 
Carolinas, history of the, 125-127; 

separation of the, 127. 
Caroline, firing of the, 256. 



INDEX. 



3% 



Carteret, Sir George, proprietor of 
New Jersey, 115. 

Cartier, James, voyages of, 36, 37. 

Carver, John, governor of the Pil- 
grims, 51 ; death of, 76. 

Census of 1790 and 1800, 213 ; of 1810, 
222 ; of 1870, 329 ; of 1880, 342 ; of 1890, 
366. 

Centennial Exposition, the, 333. 
Centennial of the Republic, the, 362. 
Cerro Gordo, battle of, 264. 
Champion Hills, battle of, 303. 
Champlain, Lake, discovered, 40; 

expedition to, 141 ; abandoned by 

the French, 145. 
Champlain, Samuel, voyages of, 39, 

40; founds Quebec, 39; discovers 

Lake Champlain, 40 ; governs New 

France, 40. 
Chancellors ville, battle of, 307. 
Chandler, Zachariah, death of, 343. ! 
Chapultepec, battle of, 267. 
Charlesbourg", Fort, settlement at, 

47. 

Charleston, founded, 128; British 
repulsed at, 164; taken by British, 
187 ; evacuated, 195 ; taken by Sher- 
man, 313. 

Charleston earthquake, the, 353. 

Charter Oak, the, 87. 

Charter of ^e\v England, 78. 

Chase, Salmon P., Secretary of the 
Treasury, 281 ; as Chief-justice pre- 
sides at impeachment trial of 
Andrew Johnson, 327. 

Chen Lan Pin, the Chinese Minister, 1 
340. 

Cherokees, regions inhabited by the, ■ 
16 ; difficulties with the, 252. 

Cherry Valley, massacre at, 181. 

Chesapeake, the affair of the, 233. 

Chesapeake Bay, explored, 61. 

Chicago, the great fire in, 330 ; the 
Anarchists in, 352. 

Chickamaug-a, battle of, 304. 

Chicora, first name of South Caro- 
lina, 29. 

Chinese Embassy, establishment of 
the, 340. 

Chippewa, battle of, 235. 

Chrysler's Field, battle of, 232. 

Churubusco, battle of, 266. 

Circumnavigation of the globe, 28. 

Civil Rights Bill, the, 326. 

Civil Service Reform, the, 351. 

Civil War, causes of the, 284-287 ; his- 
tory of the, 281-319. 

Clark, George Rogers, campaigns of 
in the West, 181. 

Clarke, William, expedition of, 218. ! 

Clay, Henry, advocates Missouri 
Compromise, 246 ; advocates Omni- 
bus Bill, 270 ; death of, 272. 

Clayborne, William, surveys of, 122. ! 

Cleveland, Grover, elected Presi- 
dent, 349 ; sketch of, 350 ; adminis- 
tration of, 350-360 ; renominated, 



358; receives majority of popular 
vote, 359. 

Clinton, Sir Henry, repulsed at New 
York, 164; bombards Charleston, 
164; at battle of Long Island, 166. 

Code of Laws, given by London 
Company, 68. 

Cold Harbor, battle of, 316. 

Colonies, the American, war of with 
Great Britain, 157-198; independ- 
ence of, 165-197. 

Colonization Society, founded, 243. 

Colorado, admission of, 335. 

Columbia, District of, organized, 213. 

Columbus, Christopher, sketch of, 
24 ; discovers America, 25 ; other 
voyages of, 26; misfortunes of, 
26 ; death of, 26 ; discovers Orinoco, 
43. 

Comanches, regions inhabited by 
the, 16. 

Commerce, aggressions on Ameri- 
can, 219. 

Concessions, account of the, 116. 

Concord, founded, 80. 

Confederacy, the Southern, 277. 

Confederation, articles of, 199 ; his- 
tory of the, 199. 

Confederate cruisers, depredations 
by, 315. 

Congress of the Colonies, 139; the 
Stamp Act, 152 ; the First Continen- 
tal, 156; the Second Continental, 
161. 

Conkling", Roscoe, resigns seat in 
Senate, 345. 

Connecticut, colonization of, 106 ; 
history of, 106 ; charter of, 109 ; joins 
New England, 111. 

Conscription in the North, 308. 

Constitution of the United States, 
proposed, 200; committee ap- 
pointed, 200; report of committee 
adopted, 201; provisions of, 201; 
adopted by the States, 202. 

Constitution, the affair of the, 225. 

Continental Army, organization of 
the, 162. 

Convention, the Constitutional, 200; 

the Hartford, 239. 
Cooke, Jay A: Co., disastrous failure 

of, 333. 

Cooper, Peter, candidate for Presi- 
dency, 335. 

Cordova, Fernandez de, explora- 
tions of, 28. 

Corinth, battle of, 297. 

Cornbury, Lord, governor of Xew 
York, 104. 

Cornwallis, Lord, joins Clinton, 164; 
at Long Island, 167 ; takes Fort Lee, 
168; pursues Washington, 169; at 
Brandyw^ine, 176; at Monmouth, 
180; at Sander's Creek, 188; pur- 
sues Greene, 194 ; in Virginia, 195 ; 
blockaded in Yorktown, 196; sur- 
render of, 197. 



39° 



HISTORY OF THE 



UNITED STATES. 



Cortereal, Gaspar, voyages of, 34. 
Cortez, Fernando, conquers Mexico, 
28. 

Cotton gin, invention of tlie, 285. 

Cowpens, battle of, 193. 

Cranfield, Edward, governor of 

Province of New Hampshire, 86. 
Credit Mobilier, tlie, 332. 
Creek cession, the, 249. 
Creeks, war with the, 231. 
Crown Point, Johnson's expedition 

against, 141; deserted by the French, 

145. 

Cuban " Filibusters," the, 271. 

Culpepper, John, leader of insurrec- 
tion in North Carolina, 126. 

Culpepper, Lord, grant of Virginia 
to, 73 ; appointed governor, 75 ; sole 
proprietor, 75 ; removed, 75. 

Custer, General, defeat of, 334. 

D 

Da Grama, Vasco, doubles Cape of 

Good Hope, 42. 
Dakota Territory, organized, 325. 
Dakotas, the separation of the, 

360. 

Dakotas, regions inhabited by the, 
16. 

Dare, Virginia, birth of, 46. 

Darrah, Lydia, story of, 176. 

Davis, Jefferson, President of Con- 
federacy, 277 ; sketch of, 289 ; escape 
of, 319 ; capture of, 320. 

Daye, Stephen, first printer in Amer- 
ica, 81. 

Deane, Silas,commissioner to France, 
178. 

Dearborn, Fort, surrender of, 225. 

Dearborn, Henry, commander-in- 
chief of American army, 224 ; ex- 
pedition against Toronto, 231. 

De Ayllon, voyage of, 29. 

Decatur, captures the Philadelphia. 
216 ; captures the Macedonian, 226; 
conquers the Algerian pirates, 242. 

Declaration of Rights, 153; of In- 
dependence, 165. 

Decree, the Milan, 220. 

De G-ourgn.es, Dominic, revenge of, 

38. 

De Kalb, joins patriot forces, 172 ; 
killed, 181. 

Delaware, Lord, governor of Vir- 
ginia, 62 ; voyage to Virginia, 63 ; 
return to England, 34; death of, 
67. 

Delaware, secession of, 120. 
Delaware, the, crossed by Washing- 
ton, 169. 

De Monts, patent of, 38; at Port 

Royal, 39. 
De Soto, Ferdinand, expedition of, 

30-32 ; discovers the Mississippi, 31 ; 

death of, 32. 
D'Estaing-, fleet of, 179. 



Detroit, surrender of, 225. 

Dieskau, defeat of, 142. 

Discovery of America, 25. 

Division of land, 64. 

Dolbear, A. C, inventor of the tele- 
phone, 347. 

Donelson, Fort, capture of, 293. 

Dorchester Heights, fortification of, 
163. 

Dorr's Rebellion, 258. 

Douglas, Stephen A., advocates State 

sovereignty, 274. 
Dover, founded, 113. 
Drake, Sir Francis, voyages of, 44 ; at 

Roanoke, 45. 
Dred Scott case, the, 276. 
DuGluesne, Fort, built, 138; battle 

near, 140 ; destruction of, 144. 

E 

Early, J. A., invades Pennsylvania, 
317 ; surprises Union camp, 318 ; de- 
feated at Winchester, 318. 

East India Company, the Dutch, 53. 

Edison, Thomas A., inventor of the 
telephone and electric light, 347. 

Edward, Fort, built, 141 ; battle at, 
142. 

Electoral Commission, the, 336. 
Electric light, invention of the, 347. 
Elizabethtown, founded, 115. 
Emancipation Proclamation, is- 
sued, 302. 

Embargo Act, passage of, 219; re- 
peal of the, 321. 

Endicott, John, governor of Ply- 
mouth, 78. 

Ericsson, John, invents the Monitor, 
294. 

Ericsson, Leif , discovers America, 21. 
Ericsson, Thorwald and Thorstein, 
22. 

Erie, Fort, siege of, 236. 
Erie, Lake, battle of, 229. 
Esquimos, regions inhabited by the, 
16. 

Eutaw Springs, battle of, 195. 
Evarts, William A., delivers Cen- 
tennial oration, 333. 

F 

Fair Oaks, battle of, 299. 
Farragut, Admiral, captures New 

Orleans, 296 ; captures Mobile, 314. 
Fava, Baron, Italian minister, 368. 
Federalist party, the, 201. 
Field, Cyrus W., lays Atlantic cables, 

275 324. 

Fields, James T., death of, 343. 

Fillmore, Millard, elected Vice-pres- 
ident, 268; becomes President, 270; 
administration of, 270-272. 

Fisher, Fort, capture of, 314. 

Fishery award, the, 340. 

Fishery dispute, the, 271. 



INDEX. 



39 1 



Fisk, Clinton B., prohibition candi- 
date for Presidency, 359. 

Five Forks, battle of, 319. 

Florida, origin of name, 27 ; cession 
of, 245 ; admission of, 260. 

Force Bill, introduction of the, 365. 

Fort Charlesbourg, settlement at, 37. 

Dearborn, surrender of, 225. 

Donelson, capture of, 293. 

Du Quesne, built, 138 ; destruc- 
tion of, 114. 

Edward, built, 141 ; battle at, 142. 

Fisher, capture of, 314. 

Jackson, capture of, 296. 

Le Boeuf , built, 136 ; arrival of 

Washington at, 136. 

McHenry, bombarded, 238. 

Meigs, building and siege of, 228. 

Mercer, taken by British, 176. 

Mifflin, taken by British, 176. 

Moultrie, bombarded, 164. 

Nassau, building of, 55. 

Necessity, built and defended, 138. 

■ Stephenson, siege of, 229. 

St. Philip, capture of. 296. 

Sumter, fired upon, 282. 

Venango, built, 136. 

William Henry built, 142 ; mas- 
sacre at, 143. 

Windsor, building of, 95. 

France, explorers sent from, 35 ; col- 
ony at Fort Charlesbourg, 37 ; colo- 
nizes Florida, 37 ; settlement at Que- 
bec, 39; aid of, 172; treaty with 
America, 178 ; relations with Amer- 
ica, 178-186; troubles with, 211; 
treaty of peace with, 212. 

Franklin, Benjamin, one of Declara- 
tion Committee, 165 ; in Frauce, 178 ; 
sketch of, 179; plan of confedera- 
tion by, 191. 

Franklin, Sir John, Arctic expedi- 
tion of, 272. 

Fredericksburg-, battle of, 301. 

Free Coinage Bill, introduction of 
the, 365. 

Free Soil Party, organization of the, 
272. 

Fremont, John C, in California, 263. 

French and Indian War, history of 
the, 135-146. 

Frenchtown, battle of, 228. 

Frobisher, Martin, searching for 
northwest passage, 43. 

Fuller, Melville W., appointed Chief- 
justice of the United States, 357. 

Fulton, Robert, invents the steam- 
boat, 220. 

G 

Gadsden Purchase, the, 273. 

Gag-e, General, occupies Boston, 154. 

Garfield, James A., elected Presi- 
dent, 341; sketch of, 344; adminis- 
tration of, 344-346 ; assassination of, 
345 ; death of, 346. 



Gates, Horatio, commands northern 
army, 175 ; defeat at Sander's Creek, 
188. 

Gates, Sir Thomas, in Virginia, 63-66. 
Genet, Citizen, trouble caused by, 
208. 

Georgia, history of, 130-134 ; named, 
131. 

Germantown, battle of, 176. 

Gerry, Elbridge, envov to France, 
211 ; Vice-president, 227. 

Gettysburg, battle of, 308. 

Ghent, the treaty of, 241. 

Gilbert, Sir Humphrey, voyage of, 
44 ; lost at sea, 45. 

Gist, Christopher, commands explor- 
ing party, 136. 

Gold, searches for, 43; discovery of 
in California, 267. 

Gorges, Sir Ferdinand, proprietor 
New Hampshire, 113. 

Gosnold, Bartholomew, voyage and 
explorations of, 46 ; in the London 
Company, 47. 

Grant, Ulysses S., captures Fort 
Donelson, 293; at Shiloh, 293; at 
Vicksburg, 303; general-in-chief , 311 ; 
in the Wilderness, 316; at Peters- 
burg, 318; enters Richmond, 319; 
final victory of, 319 ; elected Presi- 
dent, 327 ; sketch of, 328 ; administra- 
tion of, 328-336; reelected, 331; tour 
of the world, 342; death of, 355; 
tomb of, 355. 

Gray, Elisha P., inventor of tele- 
phone, 347. 

Great Britain colonizes America, 41- 
52 ; governs Virginia, 70-75; governs 
New York, 100-105 ; oppressions by, 
149-156 ; revolutionary war with, 
157-197 ; war of 1812 with, 221-241 ; 
treaties with, 197, 241, 258, 330. 

Great Eastern, the, carries Atlantic 
cable, 325. 

Great Meadows, battle at, 138. 

Greeley, Horace, nominated for Pres- 
idency, 331 ; death of, 331. 

Greenbacks, issued, 320. 

Greene,Nathaniel, campaigns of, 193. 

Grenville, Sir Richard, voyage of, 45. 

Guadalupe Hidalgo, treaty of, 267. 

Guilford Court House, battle of, 
194. 

H 

"Half Breeds," the, 345. 

Half Moon, voyages of the, 53, 54. 

Hamilton, Alexander, builds Fort 
Washington, 168 ; urges adoption of 
Constitution, 201 ; first Secretary of 
the Treasury, 206; financial policy 
of, 207 ; killed by Burr, 217. 

Hamilton, Andrew, defends Zenger, 
104. 

Hancock, Winfield S., death of, 356. 
Harmar, General, expedition of, 207. 



39 2 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Harrison, Benjamin, nominated for 
Presidency, 359 ; elected, 359 ; sketch 
of, 361 ; administration of, 361-369. 

Harrison, William Henry, governor 
Indiana Territory, 215; at Tippe- 
canoe, 222; campaigns of, 228-330; 
resigns commission, 232; elected 
President, 256 ; sketch of, 257 ; death 
of, 258. 

Hartford, founded, 80. 

Hartford Convention, the, 239. 

Harvard College founded, 81. 

Harvey, Sir John, governor of Vir- 
ginia, 70. 

Hayes, Rutherford B., elected Presi- 
dent, 336 ; sketch of, 337 ; adminis- 
tration of, 337-343. 

Hayne, Isaac, hanging of, 195. 

Hayne, Senator, debate with Daniel 
Webster, 251. 

Hendricks, Thomas A., elected Vice- 
president, 349 ; death of, 356 ; sketch 
of, 356 ; statue of, 357. 

Hennessey, David C. assassination 

Of, 368. 

Henry, Patrick, speech of, 152. 
Herjulfson, discovers America, 21. 
Hood, J. B., evacuates Atlanta, 312; 

Nashville campaign of, 312. 
Hooker, Joseph, storms Lookout 

Mountain, 305 ; commands Army of 

the Potomac, 307 ; at Chancellors- 

ville, 307 ; death of, 356. 
Howe, Admiral, at battle of Long 

Island, 166. 
Howe, General, arrives in Boston, 

159 ; at Bunker Hill, 160 ; surrenders 

Boston, 163; at Battle of Long 

Island, 166; at White Plains, 168; 

at Brandywine, 176. 
Hudson, Sir Henry, voyages of, 53 ; 

mutiny against, 54. 
Huguenots, massacre of the, 33, 38; 

colony of, 37 ; in South Carolina, 129. 
Hull, Isaac, in naval battle, 225. 
Hull, William, begins War of 1812, 

224; surrenders Detroit, 225. 
Hunt, Robert, in London Company, 

47. 

Huron- Iroquois, regions inhabited 
by the, 16 ; characteristics of the, 16. 

Hutchinson, Ann, accused of heresy, 
80 ; exile of, 81. 



Icelanders, the, in America, 21-23. 
Idaho, organization of Territory, 

325 ; admission of State, 366. 
Illinois, admission of, 245. 
Impeachment trial of Andrew 

Johnson, 327. 
Importation Act, the, 150. 
Independence, Declaration of, by 

North Carolina Convention, 161 ; by 

congress of the United Colonies, 165 ; 

leading principles of, 166. 



Independent Treasury Bill, the, 
proposed by Van Buren, 255; re- 
peal of, 258. 

Indiana, organization of Territory, 
214 ; admission of State, 242. 

Indians, sketch of the, 15-19 ; trou- 
bles with in Northwest Territory, 
207. 

Indian Territory, set apart, 252. 
Internal revenue, sources of, 320. 
Iowa, admission of, 260. 
Iroquois, regions inhabited by the, 
16. 

Isabella, Queen, sympathy with, and 

aid to Columbus, 25. 
Island Number Ten, siege of, 294. 



Jack, Captain, leads Modoc war, 332. 

Jackson, Andrew, begins career, 
188 ; subdues the Creeks, 231 ; drives 
British from Florida, 239 ; in com- 
mand at New Orleans, 239-241 ; sub- 
dues Seminoles, 245 ; elected Presi- 
dent, 249 ; administration of, 250-253. 

Jackson, Stonewall, valley cam- 
paign of, 297; at Cedar Mountain, 
300 ; seizes Harper's Ferry, 300 ; at 
Chancellor sville, 307 ; death of, 307. 

Jamestown, settlement of, 48 ; col- 
ony at, 57. 

Japan, intercourse opened with, 273. 

Jay, John, first Chief -justice, 206; 
envoy to England, 210. 

Jefferson, Thomas, prepares Declar- 
ation of Independence, 165 ; Secre- 
tary of Foreign Affairs, 205 ; elected 
Vice-president, 210; elected Presi- 
dent, 213 ; administration of, 214- 
220 ; reelected, 217 ; death of, 249. 

Johnson, Andrew, elected Vice- 
president, 320 ; becomes President, 
323 ; sketch of, 323 ; administration 
of, 323-327 ; issues Amnesty Procla- 
mation, 324 ; impeachment of, 327. 

Johnston, Joseph E., at Bull Run, 
289 ; wounded at Fair Oaks, 299 ; 
surrender of, 313 ; death of, 367. 

Johnstown flood, the, 363. 

Jones, Paul, conquers the Serapis, 
186. 

Joseph, chief of the Nez Perce In- 
dians, 338. 



Kane, Elisha Kent, Arctic expedi- 
tion of, 272. 

Kansas, troubles in, 274 ; admission 
Of, 325. 

Kansas-Nebraska Bill, the, 274. 
Karlsefne, Thorfinn, explorations 
of, 22. 

Kearny, Philip, expedition to Cali- 
fornia, 263. 
Kenesaw Mountain, battle of, 311. 



INDEX. 



393 



Kentucky, admission of, 208. ) 
Kidd, Captain William, story of, 103. 
Kieft, Sir William, governor of New ; 

Amsterdam, 96. 
King's Mountain, battle of, 189. 
Kingston, destroyed by Indians, 98. 
Kossuth, Louis, tour of in America, 

271. 

L 

Labor agitations, the, 351. 

Lafayette, Marquis de, enters Amer- 
ican army, 172 ; wounded at Brandy- 
wine, 176 ; campaigns of in Virginia, 
194-196 ; revisits America, 246. 

La Roche, Marquis of, brings colo- 
nists to America, 38. 

Laudonniere, in Florida, 38. 

Law, the alien, 213 ; the sedition, 213. 

Lawrence, James, commands the 
Hornet, 232; commands the Chesa- 
peake, 233 ; death of, 234. 

Le Bceuf, Fort, built by the French, 
136. 

Lee, Charles, besieges Boston, 162; 
captured by British, 169 ; exchanged, 
172 ; trouble with Washington, 180. 

Lee, Richard Henry, offers Resolu- 
tions of Independence in Congress, 
164. 

Lee, Robert E., at Cheat Mountain, 
288 ; Confederate counnander-in- 1 
chief, 299; at Bull Run, 300; in- 
vades Maryland, 300 ; at Antietam, 
301 ; at Chaneellorsville, 307 ; in- 
vades Pennsylvania, 308; at Gettys- 
burg, 308 ; in the Wilderness, 316 ; at 
Spottsylvania C. H., 319 ; flees from ; 
Richmond, 319 ; surrender of, 319. 

Leisler, Jacob, insurrection of, 102. 

Lewis, Captain, expedition of, 218. 

Lexington, battle of, 157. 

Liberia, colony in, 243. 

Liberty pole, tight at, 154. 

Life-saving* Service, establishment 
of the, 340. 

Lincoln, Abraham, elected Presi- 
dent, 270 ; sketch of, 281 ; adminis- 
tration of, 281-321; issues Emanci- 
pation Proclamation, 302 ; reelected, 
320 ; assassination of, 321 ; burial of, 
321. 

Lincoln, General, campaigns of in 
the north, 174-175 ; campaigns of in 
the south, 185-187. 

Livingston, Edward, negotiates pur- 
chase of Louisiana, 215. 

Livingston, Robert R., on Declara- 
tion Committee, 165. 

Locke, John, draws up the Grand 
Model, 125. 

Logan, John A., death of, 356. 

London Company, organization of, 
47 ; grants to, 47 ; settlement of 
Jamestown, 48 ; new charter of, 62 ; \ 
third patent, 65 ; charter cancelled, j 



Long Island, battle of, 166. 

Longstreet, James, death of, 367. 

Lookout Mountain, storming of, 305. 

Loudoun, Earl of, commands Colo- 
nial army, 142. 

Louisburg, captures of, 92, 143. 

Louisiana, purchase of, 215 ; Terri- 
tory of, 216 ; admission of, 224. 

Lovelace, governor of New York, 
100. 

Lundy's Lane, battle of, 235. 
Lyon, Nathaniel, at Booneville, 290 ; 
killed at Wilson's Creek, 290. 

M 

Madison, James, elected President, 
220 ; administration of, 221-227. 

Mafia Society, in New Orleans, 368. 

Magellan, Ferdinand, voyage of 
around the world, 28. 

Maine, the Province of, 85 ; admis- 
sion of, 246. 

Malietoa, kiug of Samoa, 363. 

Malvern Hill, battle of, 299. 

Manhattan Island, purchase of, 94. 

Marion, Francis, raids of, in South 
Carolina, 188. 

Marshall, John, envoy to France, 
211; Chief-justice of the United 
States, 216; presides at trial of 
Aaron Burr, 217. 

Maryland, history of, 122-125. 

Mason, James M., Confederate em- 
bassador t<> England, 291. 

Mason, John, in Pequod war, 107 ; 
grant to, 113. 

Massachusetts, colonization of. 47- 
52; history of, 76-93. 

Massachusetts Bay Colony, 78. 

Massacre, the Boston, 154; the Cher- 
ry Valley, 181; the Indian, 68; the 
New Orleans, 367 ; the Wyoming, 
180. 

Massasoit, visits Plymouth, 76. 

Mather, Cotton, favors prosecution 
of witches, 89, 91. 

May, Cornelius, explorations of, 55; 
leader in Dutch settlement, 94. 

Mayflower, voyage of the, 50. 

McClellan, George B., campaigns 
of, in West Virginia, 288 ; commands 
Army of the Potomac, 290; Penin- 
sular campaign of, 299 ; at Antietam, 
301 ; death of, 356. 

McDonough, Commodore, at battle 
of Plattsburg, 237. 

McDowell, Irwin, at Bull Bun, 289; 
death of, 356. 

McHenry, Fort, bombardment of, 
238. 

McKinley Bill, adoption of the, 364. 

Meade, George G., in command of 
Armv of the Potomac, 308; at Get- 
tysburg, 308 ; in the Wilderness, 316 ; 
flees from Richmond, 319; surren- 
der of, 319 ; death of, 356. 



394 



HISTORY OF THE 



UNITED STATES. 



Meigs, Colonel, attacks Sag Harbor, 1 
171 ; rewarded by Congress, 172. 

Meigs, Fort, built, 228 ; siege of, ' 
228. 

Menendez, Pedro, expedition of, 32 ; ! 

massacre of Huguenots, 33, 34, 38. 
Mercer, Fort, taken by British, 

176. 

Merrimac, the, fights with the Moni- 
tor, 294. 

Mexico, City of, siege of the, 265. 

Mexico, French occupation of, 324. 

Mexico, war with, 261-267 ; declara- 
tion of war with, 262. 

Miamis, war with the, 207. 

Miantonomah, gives Rhode Island, 
81. 

Michigan, organization of Territory, 
218 ; admission of State, 253. 

Mifflin, Fort, taken by British, 176. 

Miller, James, at Lundy's Lane, 
236. 

Mims, Fort, attacked by savages, 
231. 

Minnesota, admission of, 276. 

Missionary Ridge, storming of, 305. 

Mississippi, organization of Terri- 
tory, 215 ; admission of State, 244. 

Mississippi River, discovery of, 31. 

Missouri, admission of, 246. 

Missouri Compromise, the, 246. 

Mobilians, regions inhabited by the, 
16 ; tribes of the, 16. 

Model, the Grand, account of, 125. 

Modocs, war with the, 332. 

Monitor, fights the Merrimac, 294. 

Monmouth, battle of, 180. 

Monroe Doctrine, the, 246. 

Monroe, James, negotiates Louisi- 
ana purchase, 216; elected Presi- 
dent, 243; sketch of, 244; adminis- 
tration of, 244-247 ; reelected, 246. 

Montana, organization of Territory, 
325 ; admission of State, 360. 

Montcalm, General, at Fort William 
Henry, 142 ; at Plains of Abraham, 
145. 

Monterey, capture of, 263. 
Montgomery, Richard, attack of on 

Quebec, 162 ; death of, 162. 
Mont Real, island and toAYn of, 36. 
Morgan, John, raid of, 306. 
Mormons, troubles with the, 259, 

275. 

Morris, Robert, gives financial aid, 
170; Secretary of Finance, 192; 
brought to poverty, 200. 

Morse, Samuel F. B., inventor of the 
telegraph, 260. 

Morton, Levi P., elected Vice-presi- 
dent, 359. 

Morton, Oliver P., death of, 343. 

Mound-builders, account of the, 

12-15. 

Moultrie, bombardment of, 164. 
Murfreesboroug-h, battle of, 297. 
Mutiny in Continental Army, 192. 



N 

Narvaez, De, governor of Florida, 29. 

Nashville, siege of, 312. 

National Banks, establishment of, 

320. 

National debt, the, 320, 324. 

Naval battles between the Chesa- 
peake and the Leopard, 219 ; Chesa- 
peake and the Shannon, 233 ; Con- 
stellation and the Insurgent, 212 ; 
Constitution and the Querriere, 225 ; 
Constitution and the Java, 226; 
Essex anc the Nocton, 226 ; Essex and 
the Phoebe and Cherub, 234 ; Hart- 
ford and the Tennessee, 314 ; Hornet 
and the Peacock, 232; Hornet and 
the Penguin, 241 ; Lawrence and the 
Detroit, 229 ; Monitor and the Merri- 
mac, 294 ; Niagara and British fleet, 
229; Poictiers and the Wasp, 226; 
Poor Richard and the Serapis, 186 ; 
President and the Little Belt, 223; 
United States and the Macedonian, 
226 ; Wasp and the Frolic, 226. 

Nebraska, admission of 325. 

Necessity, Fort, built and defended, 
138 

Negro Plot, the, 104. 

Nevada, admission of, 320. 

New Amsterdam, founded, 54. 

New England, named, 49 ; coloniza- 
tion of, 51, 52, 76-93, 106-114. 

New France, 36-40. 

New Hampshire, the province of, 
86, 113 ; history of, 113. 

New Haven, founded, 108. 

New Jersey, named, 115 ; history of, 
115-118 ; division of, 116. 

New Netherlands named, 55 ; history 
of, 94-99. 

New Orleans, battle of, 241 ; capture 
of, 295 ; exposition in, 350 ; massacre 
in, 367. 

Newport, Christopher, commands 
fleet, 48 ; brings immigrants, 61. 

New Sweden, colonization of, 95-99. 

New York, colonization of, 94-99 ; 
named, 99; under English, 100-105. 

New York City, settlement of, 94; 
under Dutch, 94-99 ; under English, 
100-105 ; occupied by Washington, 
164; operations about, 166 ; takeDby 
British, 167 ; evacuation of, 198 ; 
world's fair in, 274 ; riots in, 309. 

Nez Perce, Indians, war with the, 338. 

Niagara, captured by English, 144. 

Norsemen, early discoveries by the, 
21; voyages of the, 20-23; remains 
in America of the, 23. 

North Carolina, history of, 125-127; 
ratifies constitution, 206. 

North Dakota, admission of, 360. 

Northeastern boundary, establish- 
ment Of, 258. 

Northwest Passage, the, 43. 

Nullification, account of, 250-251. 



INDEX. 



395 



o 

Ogrlethorpe, James, founding of 

Georgia by, 130-134. 
Ohio, admission of, 214. 
Ohio Company, organization of, 136. 
Omnibus Bill, the, 270. 
Oreg-on, admission of, 276. 



P 

Pacific, discovery of the, 27. 
Pacific Railroad, route of surveyed, 

278 ; completion of, 328. 
Pakenham, Sir Edward, commands 

British at New Orleans, 239-241. 
Palo Alto, battle of, 262. 
Panic of 1836-37, the financial, 253, 

255 , Of 1873, 332. 
Paper Money, origin of in America, 

89. 

Patroons, account of the, 95. 

Paris, the treaty of, 146. 

Parris, Samuel, joins in witchcraft 
persecutions, 89. 

Penn, William, purchases East Jer- 
sey, 117 ; proprietor of Pennsylvania 
118; sketch of, 119; treaty of with 
Indians, 119; founds Philadelphia, 
120 ; death of, 120. 

Pennsylvania, history of, 118-120. 

Pension legislation, 354. 

Pequods, war with the, 107. 

Perry, Oliver H., victory of on Lake 
Erie, 229. 

Petersburg", siege of, 316 ; capture of, 
319. 

Philadelphia, founded, 120; taken 
by British, 176 ; evacuated by Brit- 
ish, 180. 

Philadelphia, the, captured and re- 
taken, 216. 

Philip, King, war with, 84. 

Phipps, Sir William, commands Eng- 
lish troops, 88. 

Pickett, George G., charge at Gettys- 
burg, 308. 

Pierce, Franklin, elected President, 
272 ; administration of, 273-274. 

Pilgrims, so named, 50; promise to 
the, 50 ; landing, 51 ; sufferings, 51. 

Pirates, the Algerine, 210. 

Pittsburgh, building on site of, 137 ; 
named, 144. 

Piatt, Thomas C, resigns seat in 
Senate, 345. 

Plattsburg-h, battle of, 237. 

Plymouth Company, the, organiza- 
tion of, 47 ; grants to, 47 ; attempt at 
colonization, 48. 

Plymouth Council, organization of, 
49 ; grant to, 49. 

Plymouth Rock, landing at, 51. 

Pocahontas, rescues John Smith, 
60 ; abducted by Argall, 65 ; mar- 
riage of, 65. 



Polk, James K., elected President, 

260; sketch of, 261; administration 

Of, 261-268. 
Ponce de Leon, voyages of, 27. 
Pope, John, takes Island Number 

Ten, 294 ; at Bull Run, 300. 
Port Bill, the Boston, 156. 
Porter, Admiral, bombards Vieks- 

burg, 304 ; captures Fort Fisher, 314. 
Port Royal, founded, 39. 
Portuguese explorations, 34. 
Prescott, William, fortihes Breed's 

Hill, 159. 

Prideaux, General, campaign of 

against Niagara, 144. 
Princeton, battle of, 171. 
i Pringr, Martin, voyage of, 46. 
Printing-press, introduction of in 

America, 81. 
Privateers, British, 209. 
Prohibition Party candidates, the, 

Of 1884, 359. 
Proprietors' Rights, purchase of, 

77. 

Providence, R. I., founded, 80. 

Pulaski, Count, honored by Con- 
gress, 176; killed at Savannah, 186. 

Puritans, sketch of the, 49 ; charac- 
ter of the, 93. 

a 

Quakers, persecution of the, 82. 
Quebec, founded, 39; captured by 

Wolfe, 14(5; expedition of Arnold 

against, 162. 
Q,ueenstown, battle of, 226. 

R 

Ragged Regiment, Marion's, 188. 

Raleigh, Sir Walter, voyage of with 
Gilbert, 44 ; expeditions of, 45, 46. 

Randolph, Edmund, introduces res- 
olution to adopt a new Constitu- 
tion, 200. 

Rebellion, Bacon's, 74. 

Reconstruction, measures of, 325. 

Red River Expedition, the, 310. 

Reed, Thomas B., Speaker of House 
of Representatives, 365, 

Remonetization of silver, 339. 

Republic, the New, 202. 

Resaca de la Palma, battle of, 262. 

Resumption Act, adoption of the, 
339. 

Revere, Paul, ride of, 157. 

Revolution, causes of the, 149-156 ; 
history of the, 157-198. 

Rhode Island, founded, 80; history 
of, 111-113 ; ratifies the Constitution, 
206; Dorr's rebellion in, 258. 

Ribault, John, voyages of, 37. 

Richmond, capital of Southern Con- 
federacy, 283 ; fall of, 319. 

Rights, declaration of, 153. 

Roanoke, colony at, 45. 



39 6 



HISTORY OF THE 



UNITED STATES. 



Roberval, Frances of, attempts to 

found colony in New France, 37. 
Rodg-ers, Commodore, commander 

of the President, 223. 
Roebling*, Joan, architect of the 

Brooklyn bridge, 348. 
Rolfe, John, marriage of, 65. 
Rosecrans, W. S., at Murfrees- 

borough, 297 ; at Chickaniauga, 304. 
Ross, General, captures Washington, 

237 ; expedition against Baltimore, 

238. 

Ryswick, treaty of, 89. 

S 

Salem, founded, 78 ; witchcraft at, 89. 

Samoa, difficulty in, 363. 

Samoset, welcomes the Pilgrims, 76. 

Sander's Creek, battle of, 188. 

San Domingo Commission, the. 329. 

Sandys, Sir Edwyn, treasurer of Lon- 
don Company, 68; sends wives to 
colonists, 68. 

San Gabriel, battle of, 264. 

Santa Anna, called to Mexico, 263; 
atBuena Vista and Cerro Gordo, 
264 ; driven from Mexico, 267. 

Saratoga, battle of, 174. 

Savannah., founded, 131 ; taken by 
British, 183 ; bombardment of, 185 ; 
taken by Sherman, 313. 

Saybrook, founded, 107. 

Scott, Winfleld S., at Lundy's Lane, 
235 ; commander-in-chief in Mexican 
war, 262-267 ; commander-in-chief 
of the Union, 283 ; retires from ser- 
vice, 290. 

Seamen, the impressment of, 219. 

Secession, account of the, 277. 

Seminoles, war with the, 245, 252. 

Seven Days' battles, the, 299. 

Seward, William H., Secretary of 
State, 281; diplomacy of, 292; at- 
tempted assassination of, 321. 

Seymour, Horatio, death of, 357. 

Shackamaxon, treaty of, 119. 

Sheridan, Philip H. . ravages Shen- 
andoah valley, 318 ; ride to Winches- 
ter, 318 ; general-in-chief , 348 ; death 
of, 367. 

Sherman, Roger, on declaration 
committee, 165. 

Sherman, William Tecumseh, at 
Chickasaw Bayou, 297 ; advance on 
Atlanta, 311 ; captures Atlanta, 312 ; 
march to the sea, 312; resigns com- 
mand, 348; death of, 367. 

Shiloh, battle of, 293. 

Silver, remonetization of, 339. 

Sioux Indians, war with the, 333. 

Sitting* Bull, in Sioux war, 335. 

Slavery, introduction of in Virginia, 
67 ; in South Carolina, 128 ; in the 
Territories, 269 ; abolition of, 302 ; 
amendment to the Constitution, 
323. 



Slidell, John, Confederate ambassa- 
dor to England, 291. 

Sloug'hter, Colonel, governor of New 
York, 103. 

Smith, John, in London Company, 
47 ; at Jamestown settlement, 48 ; 
voyages of, 48; names New Eng- 
land, 49 ; admiral of New England, 
49 ; trouble with colonists, 58 ; cap 
tured by Indians, 59 ; rescue by Po- 
cahontas, 60 ; explores Chesapeake 
Bay, 61 ; president of Virginia, 62 ; 
returns to England, 63. 

Smyth, Alexander, takes command 
of American forces, 226; charged 
with cowardice, 227. 

Sons of Liberty, organization of, 153. 

South Carolina, history of, 128-130. 

South Dakota, admission of, 360. 

Spain, discovers and colonizes Amer- 
ica, 24-34 ; treaty with, 245. 

Spanish Florida, war with, 133. 

Specie Circular, the, 255. 

Specie Resumption,- the, 341. 

" Spoils System," the, 345. 

Spottsylvania Courthouse, battle 
of, 316. 

"Stalwarts," the, 345. 

Stamp Act, adoption of the, 151; re- 
peal of the, 153. 

Standish, Miles, landing of, 51 ; ex- 
pedition of, 76. 

Stanton, Edwin M., Secretary of 
War, 281. 

Starving- Time, the, 63. 
i St. Augustine, founded, 33. 

St. Clair, expedition of against Mi- 
ami Indians, 207. 

Steamboat, invention of, 220. 

Stephens, Alexander, defends the- 
ory of secession, 277; Vice-presi- 
dent of Southern Confederacy, 277. 

Stephenson, Fort, siege of, 229. 

St. Lawrence River, named, 36. 

Stony Point, taken by British, 184; 
retaken by General Wayne, 184. 

Strike, the great railroad, 337 ; the 
southwestern, 352. 

Stuyvesant, Peter, governor of New 
Netherlands, 97-99. 

Sumter, Fort, fired upon, 282. 

Sumter, Thomas, raids of, in South 
Carolina, 188. 

Supreme Court, organization of, 206. 

T 

Talladega, battle of, 231. 

Tariff, the protective, agitation of, 

249 ; issue in presidential campaign, 

358, 359. 

Taylor, Bayard, author of National 

Ode, 333 ; death of, 343. 
Taylor, Zachary, campaign in Flor- 
ida, 254 ; campaigns in Mexican War, 
! 261-264 ; elected President, 268 ; ad- 
[ ministration of, 269-270 ; death of ,270. 



INDEX. 



397 



Tea Party, tlie Boston, 155. 

Tecumtha, conspiracy of, 222; lays 
ambush, 224; besieges Fort Meigs, 
228, 229 ; death of, 231. 

Telegraph, invention of the, 260. 

Telephone, invention of the, 347. 

Tennessee, admission of, 210. 

Territory, southwest of the Ohio, or- 
ganization of the, 207. 

Territories, organization of the, 325. 

Texas, secedes from Mexico, 260 ; an- 
nexation of, 260. 

Thames, battle of the, 2S0. 

Ticonderoga, defeat of English at, 
143; abandoned by French, 145; 
taken by Ethan Allen, 159 ; captured 
by British, 173. 

Tilden, Samuel J., election as Presi- 
dent claimed by Democrats, 355; 
death of, 357. 

Tippecanoe, battle of, 223. 

Tobacco, cultivation of, 67. 

Toronto, attacked by Americans, 231. 

Treaty with Indians, 77 ; of Ryswiek, 
89; of Utrecht,92; of Aix-la-Chapelle, 
93 ; of Shackamaxon, 119 ; of Paris, 
146 ; with France, 178 ; of 1783, 197 ; 
with France, 212 ; of Ghent, 241 ; with 
Spain, 245 ; the Webster- Ashburton, 
258 ; of Guadalupe Hidalgo, 267 ; of 
.Washington, 330. 

Trent, affair of the, 291. 

Trenton, battle at, 169. 

Tripoli, war with, 216. 

Truxtun, Commodore, 212. 

Tyler, John, elected Vice-president, 
256 ; becomes President, 257 ; sketch 
of, 258 ; administration of, 258-260. 

TJ 

TJnderhill, John, commands Dutch 

forces, 96. 
Union of Independent Colonies, the, 

200. 

United Colonies of New England, 
82. 

United Colonies of America, the, 16] . 
Utah Territory, founded, 259 ; difficul- 
ties in, 275. 
Utrecht, treaty of, 92. 

V 

Valley Forge, American army at, 177. 

Van Buren, Martin, elected Pres- 
ident, 253 ; sketch of, 254 ; adminis- 
tration of, 254-256. 

Van Rensselaer, Stephen, at Queens- 
town, 226. 

Van Twiller, Wouter, governor of 
New Netherlands, 95. 

Venango, Fort, built, 136. 

Vera Cruz, surrender of, 264. 

Vermont, admission of, 207. 

Verrazano, John, explorations of, 35. 

Vespucci, Amerigo, voyages of, 26. 



Vicksburgr, battle of, 303. 
Vincennes, capture of, 183. 
Virginia named, 45 ; colonization of, 
48 ; history of, 57-75. 

W 

Wads worth, Joseph, hides the char- 
ter, 87. 

"Waite, Morrison P., Chief -justice of 
the United States, death of, 357. 

Wallace, Lewis, at Romney, 289; 
saves Cincinnati from capture, 296 ; 
defeated by Early, 317. 

Walloons, at New Amsterdam, 94. 

Walker, Francis A., superintendent 
of Tenth Census, 342. 

War, with Indians, 92, 96 ; with Sus- 
quehannas, 73 ; King Philip's, 84 ; 
King William's, 88 ; Queen Anne's, 
91 ; King George' s, 92 ; with Pequods, 
107; Yamassees, 129; with Spanish 
Florida, 133 ; French and Indian, 
135-146 ; with Great Britain, 157-198 ; 
with Miamis, 207 ; with Tripoli, 216 ; 
of 1812, 221-241; Black Hawk, 251; 
Seminole, 252 ; with Mexico, 261- 
267 ; the Civil, 281-319 ; Modoc, 332 ; 
Sioux, 333; Nez Perce, 338. 

Warren, Joseph, at Bunker Hill, 160. 

Washington, admission of, 360. 

Washing-ton City, founded, 213; 
burned by the British, 238. 

Washing-ton, George, embassy to 
St. Pierre, 136 ; at Great Meadows, 
138 ; with Braddock, 139 ; in Shenan- 
doah, 142 ; against Fort Du Quesne, 
144 ; commander-in-chief, 161 ; sketch 
of, 161 ; besieges Boston, 162 ; occu- 
pies Boston, 163 ; at New York, 164 ; 
on Long Island, 1(56; retreats to New 
York, 167 ; occupies Fort Lee, 168 ; 
retreats to Trenton, 169 ; crosses the 
Delaware, 169; at Trenton, 170; at 
Princeton, 171 ; at Brandy wine, 176 ; 
at Germantown, 176; at Valley 
Forge, 177 ; at Monmouth, 180 ; quells 
mutiny, 192 ; farewell to army, 198 ; 
elected President, 202 ; administra- 
tion of, 205-210 ; inauguration of, 205 ; 
reelected, 208 ; farewell address, 
210; recalled from retirement, 212; 
death of, 213. 

Washing-ton Monument, completion 
of the, 348. 

Washington, Treaty of, 330. 

Wayne, Anthony, at Stony Point, 
184; subdues the Indians, 208, 209. 

Webster, Daniel, reply to Hayne, 
251; Secretary of State, 257, 271; 
concludes Ashfrurton Treaty, 258 ; 
death of, 272. 

Wesley, Charles, in America, 133. 

Wesley, John, in America, 132. 

West India Company, the Dutch, or- 
ganization of, 94. 

West Virginia, admission of, 309. 



39* 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Weymouth, founded, 77. 

Wheeler, William A., elected Vice- 
president, 336. 

Whisky Insurrection, the, 208. 

Whitefield, George, preaching in 
America, 133. 

Whitemarsh, operations at, 176. 

White Plains, battle of, 168. 

Whitney, Eli, inventor of cotton 
gin, 285. 

Wilderness, battles in the, 316. 

Wing'field, Edward, in London Com- 
pany, 47 ; at Jamestown settle- 
ment, 48 ; embezzles stores, 58. 

William Henry, Fort, building of, 
142; massacre at, 143. 

Williams, Roger, arraigned for 
heresy, 79; banished from Massa- 
chusetts, 80; with the Narragan- 
setts, 107 ; founds Providence, ill ; 
founds Rhode Island, 112. 

Wilson's Creek, battle of, 290. 

Winthrop, John, governor of Mas- 
sachusetts, 79. 

Winthrop, the younger, founds Say- 
brook, 107 ; secures charter for 
Connecticut, 109. 



Wisconsin, admission of, 268. 
Witchcraft in Salem, 89-91. 
Wives for colonists, 68. 

captures Quebec, 
145 ; death of, 146. 
World's Fair in New York, the, 

Writs of Assistance, the, 150. 

Wyatt, Sir Francis, governor of Vir- 
ginia, 68; retires from office, 70; 
reelected, 21. 

Wyoming-, massacre of, 180. 

Wyoming", organization of Territory, 
325 ; admission of State, 366. 



Yale College, founded, no. 

Yamassees, war with the, 129. 

Yeamans, Sir John, governor of 
Carolina, 128. 

Yeardley, George, appointed gov- 
ernor of Virginia, 67 ; reappointed, 
70 ; death of, 70. 

Yellow fever epidemic, the, 339. 

Yorktown, siege of, 196. 



4 



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